Trials of a family
by cassy7
Summary: After being shot and left for dead Sting remembers the lives of his children which include two well known wrestlers. Will they save him in time and rescue their mother? A lot of old wrestlers includedDDP,Piper, ect.
1. Chapter 1

Some of you might have read the story Brothers to the end written by Kyliefaithcena.

Kylie is my sister, and after reading some of the stuff I have written, was inspired to write some stuff of her own. She started off with a great concept but soon got sidetracked and eventually dispirited. She has stated she has no desire to continue. After thinking about it I have decided I would like to take charge of the story, and with her permission I am going to do just that.

Kylie had a great concept but I feel she started in the middle of the story and had nowhere to go. I plan on taking the story back to the very beginning and adding a twist. I hope all the fans of the original story enjoy the new storyline.

Disclaimer—I do not own anybody or anything. I have Kyliefaithcena's permission to take her story concept and expand on it. I am not making any money off of this so don't sue me. I am just having fun and bringing enjoyment to others.

I enjoy reviews and will acknowledge those who do offer feedback.

Steve Borden is Sting in real life and I refer to him by his real name. His wife's name in real life is Sue but when I think in terms of my story Sue doesn't fit. Her name is Laura.

Everything else is self explanatory so enjoy.

Happy reading.


	2. anniversary

2005

"I can't believe it's been 22 years since we joined our lives together." Laura Borden smiled, squeezing her husband's hands across the table.

"Marrying you was the best thing I have ever done." Steve agreed, love shining in his eyes.

Soft lamplight spread out from low hanging chandeliers and gentle music played through discreetly placed speakers. Around the two other couples spoke in melodious voices.

"Can you believe we have two whole nights to ourselves, no children, no interruptions." She said smiling suggestively.

"I'm sure we're going to make good use of the time together." He replied bringing her hand up to his lips and placing a soft kiss to her palm.

Laura laughed even as heat spread up through her body. "Be good." She admonished placing her hand back on the table. "At least until we get to our hotel."

"You mean the hotel where our room is? The room up on the twentieth floor with the floor to ceiling windows, the large spa tub we can both fit in and the bed with the sheets that are almost as silky as your skin?" He asked in a low voice, his eyes intense.

"Steve." She scolded him, laughing. Seeing the waiter approach she put her head down to hide the bright red blush staining her cheeks.

"You should be ashamed of yourself." She said once he had ordered for them and the young waiter had walked away.

"Why?" He asked smiling fondly at her. "I am here with the most beautiful girl in the country."

"Flattery will get you nothing but trouble." She warned, trying to maintain a stern expression.

"I like being a bad boy with you." He whispered outrageously leaning across the table and leering at her.

Laura placed her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. "What in the world has gotten in to you tonight?" She asked, trying to calm her beating heart.

"I have everything in the world to be happy about. Our family is alive and in good health, none of our kids are currently in any trouble, and I am alone with you on a beautiful night." Smiling he grabbed her hand and squeezed. "What more could I ask for?"

Halfway through their meal Laura brought up the subject of children. 'You know Cooper's going to be leaving for college next year. That will just leave Cadence and Savvy at home." She started.

"It's going to be real quiet with just the two girls in the house." Steve agreed.

"We have always had a least one rowdy boy to liven things up." She agreed. "And with Savvy being eleven, she's almost a teenager and not going to want a whole lot to do with us."

He looked across the table with narrowed eyes. "Where are you going with this Laura?" He asked.

She shifted in her seat nervously. "We're still pretty young. I just thought we might consider bringing another child into our lives." She finished in a row.

Steve looked at her thoughtfully. "You've given this a lot of thought."

She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "I got used to having someone to take care of. None of my chicks need me anymore."

"They have a name for what you're feeling." He started.

"I am not having empty nest syndrome. I just feel like we have more to give." She defended herself.

Steve shoved his empty plate aside, thinking. "If we bring another child into our lives then we're stuck for another twenty years. We couldn't do any of the things most couples do when their children leave the house."

"What's another twenty years? You'll be sixty-four. That's still young when you think about it. And if there's anything we feel like doing we have a wealth of babysitters." She argued.

"If you feel this strongly about it then I'm with you. But," he said his hand when she started to express her gratitude. "But we have to think everything through clearly and discuss it with the other members of the family. We are not the only ones this is going to affect."

"Of course." She agreed smiling in happiness.

"Now, if we are going to be bombarded with another rug rat we need to take advantage of every moment of peace we can get." He said laying some money on the table. "Are you ready?" He asked holding out his hand.

"For you anytime."

Arm in arm they walked out of the restaurant and down the road toward their hotel.

"It's so beautiful out tonight. I'm glad we walked." Laura said, gazing up at the star filled sky.

"Perfect fall weather." Steve agreed, holding her closer. "Perfect for snuggling." He whispered in her ear causing her to giggle.

From behind a hand came out of the dark and shoved the couple to the ground. Instinctively Steve rolled as he landed, coming to his feet at the mouth of an alley.

A voice came out of the shadows. "Back up to the end of the alley or the girl gets it." It said as a man materialized over the fallen Laura. Steve looked on in horror as her head was pulled up by her hair and a knife was placed against her throat

He held up his hands and began slowly backing up. "I'll do anything you want. Just let her go." He pleaded.

The voice in the shadows laughed menacingly as it tracked the back pedaling man. "You'll do what I want anyway." He taunted. The second man followed, dragging the stumbling Laura and occasionally nicking her neck with his big knife.

Steve felt anger well through him at the sight of her blood. "What do you want?' He shouted coming to a halt besides some overflowing trash cans. His heels were touching the stone wall at the back of the alley.

"What do I want?" The voice asked enraged. "I want what you took away from me. I want the family you stole from me!" A gun barrel appeared out of the darkness. "I want your life."

"We didn't steal anything away from you." Laura yelled attempting to wrench away from her captor. "You lost them through your own foolishness." She spat out before sinking her teeth in the arm restraining him.

Crying out the man threw her into the wall where she slumped to the ground after hitting her head. Seeing this Steve rushed the man with the knife, catching him below the knees. Crashing to the ground the two men rolled through the trash, each attempting to get the upper hand. Landing a lucky punch Steve managed to come up on top, where he continued to pummel the dazed man.

Suddenly he stiffened in pain as the retort of a gun faded in the small space. Gasping for breath he toppled over, landing in a puddle of cold, dirty water.

"Get up." The voice instructed his partner. "Grab the women. She's going to get me my baby back." Stepping out of the shadows the tall, thin man walked over to the fallen body. Pushing his lame leg out of the way he knelt down beside the wounded man. "I'm going to tear your family apart, just like you destroyed mine."

Laughing fiendishly he stood with difficultly and watched as his cohort lifted the unconscious female to his shoulders. Motioning to the car he followed at a slower pace. Once at the mouth of the alley he turned, lifting his gun and putting the already fallen man in his sights.

Steve watched through a haze of pain as Laura was transported out of his sight. Gathering his strength he attempted to raise and follow. Dragging breath into lungs that wouldn't work he levered himself halfway up.

"Laura." He whispered as pain exploded in his head and the world went black. The man lowered his gun and watched in satisfaction as the injured man fell and the water in which he lay began to turn red with blood.

An unknown amount of time later Steve opened his eyes to find himself in a movie theater. Looking around he realized he was alone and that there didn't seem to be any doors. Standing up he turned around cautiously, expecting monsters to jump out at him from the shadows. Unsure why he tensed himself expecting great pain.

A sound came from behind him as the movie screen came to life. Startled he whipped around, prepared to fight for his life. Bewildered he stared at the screens as typed words appeared.

Steve Borden—This is your life.

Shocked he settled back into his seat as his high school graduation appeared on the screen.

1979

"Son, I am so proud of you." Davis Borden exclaimed hugging his son.

"Dad, I just graduated. Its not like I saved the world." Steve said wryly, tolerating his father's affections.

"You're the first Borden to graduate high school. Both your grandfather and I quit early to join the army. But you, with a high school graduation, can become an officer and go straight to the top." The older man rambled, leading his son through the crowd to where the rest of the family waited.

"Dad, I'm not going to join the army. We've been over this. I start college in a couple weeks. I signed up for summer courses so I could get my two majors in." Steve said, disappointed that he had to go through this again.

Davis waited as some of his son's friends rushed over and enthusiastically invited him to the graduation party that night. "I know that son and I am planning on supporting you through anything you choose to do. I just don't understand some of the your choices." He finished as they came upon the section of bleachers where the rest of the family waited.

"Davis leave him alone. You don't have to understand anything. Our son's going to be famous one day." Diane admonished as she stood up to give her son a kiss.

"Thanks mom." He grinned returning her hug.

"Do you have time to have dinner with us before you go partying with your friends?" She asked as they walked toward the cars.

"If you're cooking I always have time." He smiled at her.


	3. wedding memories

I am glad that everyone seemed to enjoy the new story. If it wasn't clear Steve's life is playing on the movie screen, a version of his life flashing in front of his eyes. Don't worry some familiar faces will appear in the next couple of chapters.

Happy reading

Present time

Opening his eyes Steve looked around trying to focus his blurry vision. Taking a deep gulp of air he managed to roll over so that he was not breathing in grimy water. As his muscles contracted in pain he fought to stay awake, to call out for help. Unable to do either he slid back into the darkness.

1982

Steve glanced up from his books as a girl walked past him attempting to carry an oversized armload of books. He watched as she almost toppled backwards from the weight.

"Here let me get those for you." He said easing some of her burden.

She smiled in relief. Steve stared in wonder, feeling as if the sun had just come out on a bleak day.

"My name's Steve." He said introducing himself once his tongue had become unglued.

"Laura." She responded placing the books she still carried on the desk.

"Equine medicine." He read as he set down his stack of books. "Are you studying to be a vet?"

She shook her head. "I don't go to school here. My family breeds horses and I brought a bunch here for the Santa Anita racing season." She laughed as she looked at the huge stack of books. "In my spare time I try to read up on the business. Sometimes I go a little overboard."

Steve laughed along with her. "So where are you from?"

"Kentucky." She answered sitting down next to his workstation.

"What are you reading?" She asked taking a glimpse at the books he had spread out.

"Term paper." He groaned as he looked down at the books himself. "I have dual majors in business and economics." He admitted.

Raising her eyes she took in his broad shoulders and muscular arms. "Somehow you don't fit the appearance of someone that is a math nerd."

He shrugged embarrassed. "I like to work out a lot. Plus I don't know if I want to do this for a career."

"What else would you do?" She asked looking at him through her big blue eyes.

Steve looked around guilty. "Don't tell anyone, but I've been wrestling with friends on the weekends and I'm really enjoying it." He whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" She asked amused.

Steve rolled his shoulders as if relieving tension. "I just think a lot of people would disapprove of me doing something like that after racing through college for two degrees."

"But if wrestling makes you happy you need to do it." Laura reassured him, bestowing her with one of her beautiful smiles.

Steve smiled at her in return. "Now I know I like you." He looked at his watch. "I've got a class I need to get to. Are you going to be in town long?" He asked.

"For a couple of months. I'm thinking about setting up a small stable in town since we race here so much."

"In that case can I take you out to dinner this week?" He asked nervously watching the books he gathered instead of her.

Laura blushed. "I would like that."

1983

Steve stood at the end of the church dressed in a tuxedo. Nervously he looked down the aisle waiting for his beautiful bride to appear. Besides him stood his friends and cohorts in wrestling.

Soft lyrical music began playing. Steve felt a clenching in his gut as the doors opened and the first bridesmaid began the short walk. Once the three brightly gowned ladies had taken their positions the traditional wedding march began. Steve's breath caught in his throat at the sight of his soon to be wife.

A vision in white, her dark hair piled on top of her head she glided down the aisle as if she was floating. Coming to a stop beside the preacher she turned to her future husband with love shining in her eyes. The preacher began his marriage prayer.

"Dearly beloved….." Steve did not hear the rest of the words, his mind occupied on the vision before him.

His mind snapped back at the preacher's nudge. "The couple has prepared their own marriage vows." Steve took his cue. Grabbing her hands he looked deep into her eyes.

"Laura, from the first time I met you I was given friendship, loyalty and acceptance. Your acceptance most of all. You have encouraged me to follow my dreams, even though I've had to leave for periods at a time. I promise to always love you and to show you that love. I promise to protect you form anything that might hurt you. I promise to respect you no matter your choices. I am yours, forever and beyond. I love you, I cherish you.

Blinking back tears she started.

"Steve from the very beginning you have made me feel special. You lift me up when I can't reach. You hold me close when I'm frightened. You have always been there when I've needed you. I promise to love you and to show you that love. I promise to protect you and to respect you no matter your choices. I am yours, forever and beyond. I love you, I cherish you."

Dimly from far off Steve heard the words of the preacher. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

1984

Steve walked into his hotel room. His body ached and his left arm felt stiff. Sighing he flopped down on the hard and probably filthy bed the cheap hotel provided. Faintly he heard the ring of his cell phone, located in his bag across the room. Groaning he heaved his bruised body off the bed and attempted to navigate the small but crowded room. Cursing as he banged his knee on the dresser he retrieved his phone, noticing the number was from home.

"Hello?" He spoke into the phone, expecting the sweet voice of his wife.

"Steve" A worried male voice replied.

"Jim?" Steve asked identifying the stable foreman. "What's wrong?" He questioned worriedly, knowing something must be wrong if the usually stoic man was calling.

"Laura's sick. We had to rush her to the hospital."

"Why? What happened?" Steve asked feeling his heart seize. Pulse racing he got up to pace.

"I don't know." Jim confessed, his voice agonized. "She just doubled over, turned dead white and passed out. When the ambulance got here they said she barely had a blood pressure. The doctor's in with her now."

Steve looked frantically around the dingy hotel room. "I can be there in two hours. Tell her to hold on." He shouted into the phone. Grabbing his bag he rushed next door to alert his travel companions of his plans. Assured that they would fill the rest of the company in he spent the next two minutes searching for his keys.

"Damn" he cursed pulling them out of a hidden pocket and unlocking his car. Not taking the time to watch for traffic he peeled out of the parking lot, heading for the interstate.

One hour and fifty minutes later Steve pulled into the front entrance of the local hospital. Leaving his car running he ran into the revolving doors at full speed.

Coming to a stop at an intersection he looked wildly around unsure which way to go.

"Steve." A voice came from behind him. He whirled around to find the stable foreman behind him.

Jim held up his hand before the other man could pounce. "She's in surgery." He said looking years older than he really was.

"What the hell is wrong?" Steve demanded.

Jim rubbed his hands over his face. "They wouldn't tell me much except that she was bleeding inside and they had to stop it."

"Is she going to be okay?" The younger man asked in a tortured voice.

The foreman shrugged. "The doctor seemed optimistic."

"Who is it?"

"Dr. Pierson." Jim supplied leading him to the surgical waiting room.

"I don't know him." Steve informed him worriedly.

"I'm not surprised." The other man said drolly. "He's an OB doctor."

Steve stopped in his tracks. "OB?" he croaked.

The foreman held up his hands. "I don't know anything about it."

Minutes passed in the crowded waiting room. With every tick of the clock the fear curling in his belly became stronger causing cramping like pain.

"I can't stand this." He groaned getting up to pace.

Twenty minutes later the door to the OR opened and a tall distinguished doctor dressed in fresh scrubs stepped out. The doctor had a happy expression on his face and Steve felt his heart jump in hope.

"Peterson family." The young aid called.

Steve's shoulders slumped as he watched the relieved family jump up. "How much longer can they be in there?" He groaned. Jim squeezed him on the shoulder in silent sympathy.

"The longer they're in there the more that can go wrong." He grumbled hitting the arm of the chair with his fist.

"Mr. Borden?" A voice spoke up from behind him. Steve whirled around in surprise.

The female doctor looked up at the large man in front of him. "Hello, I am Dr. Pierson." She introduced herself.

"Laura." Steve demanded as he took in her wrinkled and sweat stained scrubs.

"She's doing okay." The petite lady assured him. "If you will come this way I will help you understand what happened." She said leading him into a small private room.

Once they were settled she looked him in the eyes. "I am going to assume that you didn't know that your wife was pregnant."

Steve stared at her in shock. "No I didn't know." He whispered.

She smiled softly. "That's normal. She wasn't very far along yet and might not have even known herself."

"So what went wrong?" Jim asked when Steve remained silent.

Not taking her eyes off of the tortured husband she answered the other man. "Sometimes the fertilized egg does not descend all the way to the uterus. It becomes lodged in the fallopian tube. As it grows the tube stretches until it can not stretch anymore and pops."

"So you're saying her tube exploded?" Steve asked in confusion.

"Yes, which caused internal bleeding. In order to stop the bleeding we had to surgically remove the tube." The doctor answered.

"So she's okay? Everything's good?"

The doctor hesitated before answering. "The point of eruption was very low and caused some damage to her uterus. We were forced to remove it." She laid her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry but she will never be able to have children."

"Have you told her yet?" Steve whispered in an anguished voice.

"No, but when she is told she will have to need a lot of support." The doctor instructed.

"Don't worry, she'll be okay. We both will." Steve said closing his eyes.

Three months later.

Steve walked outside to find his wife staring out over the ocean. He was concerned to see tears running down her face.

"Sweet heart what's wrong?" He asked folding her into his arms. "You're not crying about not having children are you?"

She shook her head. "Charlotte and her husband are dead, drive by shooting." She cried turning her face into his chest.

He frowned in concentration. "Isn't she your childhood friend? The one that moved to Boston?" He asked as he rubbed her back.

She nodded as she began to cry harder.

"Oh honey, I'm sorry."

"John." She whimpered.

"What?" He asked drawing back.

"John, their five year old son. He must be devastated." She supplied.

"Wasn't he our ring bearer? The one that just about destroyed our cake?" Steve asked dryly.

"I'm his godmother and now his guardian." She answered holding up some papers.


	4. sad troublemaker

Hey all, sorry it's been so long. I am in the process of a new job and moving. Add Christmas to the mix and I am going crazy. I didn't mean to leave you hanging. Hope you enjoy. Merry Christmas.

Present

Becca looked over as Savvy leaned against the window. "What's wrong honey?" She asked rubbing her sister's shoulders.

"I don't know." The preteen said shrugging the arm away from her. "I just have this feeling that something really bad is happening."

"I'm sure everything's okay." Becca said, trying to reassure the little girl.

"There's blood on the moon." She responded softly looking up at the sky.

"That's just an old superstition." Becca scoffed turning away.

Savvy tracked her with frightened eyes. "Can we at least call them and make sure they're all right?" She asked worriedly.

"Savvy come on. You'll interrupt their romantic evening." And maybe something else. She added to herself. "Give them at least one night kid free."

"Something's wrong." The little girl argued, her hands balling into fists.

Becca stared at her unsure how to respond. "Do you have any homework?" She asked finally.

1984

"He never comes out of his room." Laura told Steve as soon as he walked in the door of their small house

"He lost his parents a month ago and had to move to a brand new place." Steve said setting down his bags and gathering her into a hug.

"I don't think its good for him to be alone so much." She argued. "Will you talk to him at least?"

Steve sighed as he rolled his aching shoulders. "Of course I'll talk to him." He said when she glared at him.

"Now?" She asked raising her eyebrows.

"Can I take off my shoes first?" He asked exasperated.

After changing into more comfortable clothing he walked down the hall and knocked on a door. Not waiting for an answer he pushed it open and peaked inside. The small boy looked up from where he was sprawled across his bed.

"Hey John." Steve said greeting him. "How come you're up here all by yourself?" He asked leaning against the doorframe. The little boy shrugged and turned his head away.

"Well now, I can see how you don't like us and don't want to spend time with us. But Miss Laura now, she don't understand it at all and she's just heart broken." Steve drawled, watching for a reaction.

'I like Miss Laura." He protested, turning to glare at the big man in the doorway.

"You might and you might not. You've been through a lot in the last little bit and you're probably real confused on a lot of things. I know I was there once."

"You were?" The little boy asked dubiously.

"Yep" Steve replied coming over and sitting down on the bed. "My grandma died when I was a little older than you. Now granddaddy, he tried to make up for it and for a while there I hated him for it. See Grandma was a real good cook, best chocolate chip cookies in the world. Granddaddy now, he made cookies one day, hard as rocks." He explained.

John stared down at his hands. "Miss Laura does all the things mama used to do for me." He mumbled.

"And that makes you sad because you miss her. Its okay to miss her and to remember all the good stuff that she did for you." Steve said rubbing the youngster's back. "But I don't think she would have liked you like this. I bet she's real sad right now too."

"How can she be sad?" The little boy asked sitting up. He stared intently at the older man.

"She's up in heaven. She sits up there watching over you. But the little boy she's watching isn't her little boy. He doesn't yell and jump around or even smile anymore." Steve struggled to explain.

"So its okay for me to run wild?" John asked intently.

Steve winced at the wording of the question. "I think it would make her happy. As long as you follow the rules." He tacked on. He rubbed his hand over the blond hair. "It's okay to be sad sometimes but not all the time.

The two sat there for a few minutes. "So I heard Miss Laura wants you to go to the racetrack with her." He said breaking the silence. "Don't you think that'll be fun?" He asked poking him in the shoulder.

"Horses are dumb." John said sneering.

"Don't let Laura hear you say that." Steve replied laughing.

The little boy looked up at him with excitement shining in his eyes. "I think what you do is cool."

"Oh so you want to be body slammed is that it?" Steve asked lifting the giggling child over his head. Twisting he slammed him down on the soft bed.

"Do it again, do it again." John shouted jumping up and launching himself at the big man.

After several more wrestling moves were applied Steve collapsed on the bed, a victorious John sprawled over him. "Can I come to work with you?" he asked breathing heavily from laughing.

Before he could answer a female voice called out from the doorway. "What is going on here?" Laura asked observing the chaotic mess.

"Man talk." John answered importantly, getting up and pressing out his chest. "Can I have a cookie?" He asked rushing past her without waiting for an answer.

"Some talk." She said raising her eyebrows at her husband.

Two months later.

"Hi Steve." John said answering the ringing phone. He looked down the hall warily. "Can I go with you next time?" He whispered into the phone.

"I think I can arrange that, as long as you've been good." He said, thinking about it.

"Oh…" the little boy slumped into a chair. "When are you coming home?" He asked in a sullen voice.

"What happened?" Steve asked warily at the change in tone. "John?" He asked sternly when the silence stretched.

"Miss Laura's not being very nice." John finally answered.

Steve's lips twitched at the words. "What did she do?" He asked trying to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"She yelled at me and she said I couldn't come out of my room all day." The little boy whined.

"Why would she do something like that?" He asked gravely, anticipating the answer.

"Because she's mean." Came the petulant reply.

"Of course she is." Steve agreed. "I bet she says you're a very bad little boy."

"I'm not!" John argued, tears sounding in his voice. "I didn't mean to do it."

"Did you tell Miss Laura that?" The older man asked patiently.

"No"

"Don't you think it would be a good thing to apologize to her? If you do that she might not be mean anymore." Steve advised.

"Really?" The little boy asked doubtfully.

"Yea." He said laughing. "Why don't you let me talk to her first?"

"I'm not supposed to be out of my room remember." Came the whispered reply.

"Well then why don't you go back to your room and I'll call again." He whispered back.

The only answer he received was the ringing of the dial tone. Shaking his head he hit the end button and redialed the number.

"Have you had a bad day?" He asked his wife when the other line was picked up.

"Bad day? How about a bad week." She answered. "How did you know?"

"A little elf told me." He teased. "So what did the little elf do?" He asked.

"More like what didn't he do." She answered dryly. "He dumped oats all over the walkway, let the horses out of the pasture, and almost caught a bale of hay on fire."

"Sounds to me like he's getting tired of going to work with you." Steve said.

"He thinks my job is boring." She agreed laughing.

"So are you going to be mean to him all day?" He asked laughing with her.

"Of course not. I just needed some alone time. He could drive a saint crazy." She sighed. "Are you coming home soon?"

"I'll be there tomorrow. I'm bringing home a friend if that's okay?" He asked hesitantly.

"John will be happy. He's been dying to meet some of your friends." She glanced around the cluttered kitchen. "I need to get some cleaning done. Is anything wrong with you friend?"

"He and his wife are arguing. He thought he would give her a few days alone." Steve explained, glancing across the arena at his friend.

"Can't wait to meet him."

"Laura." Steve admonished. "He's a nice guy."

"I'm sure he is." She answered. Looking up she saw a small face peeping through the banister. "I better go. I think the little elf is coming to see me."

Steve said goodbye and closed his phone as he joined the rest of the group around the ring. "Everything's good to go." He informed his friend.

"Thanks man."

The next day.

Steve pulled the car up in front of his house. Turning he grinned at his friend. "Here we are."

"Nice digs man." The other man said, observing the large ranch style house.

Steve shrugged. "My wife has family money and I'm good at investing." He answered climbing out of the car. He turned as the front door burst open and a blond bundle of energy came rushing out.

"That would be John." Steve said dryly as the small boy came to a crashing halt. "John, this is Dallas Page. He works with me."

John's eyes opened wide. "Can you do all kinds of cool moves?" He asked excitedly.

"Hey little man. Why don't we let him get some rest before we put him back to work." Steve advised scooping up the wiggling child. Laura stood in the doorway smiling at the exchange.

"Guess what?' John said excitedly getting his attention. "I get to go to play football."

"That's great." He said. "We'll have to practice tonight." He raised his eyebrows at his wife.

"I had to do something to use up some of his energy." She smiled wryly. Turning she smiled at their guest. "Hello, I'm Laura Borden."

"Dallas Page." He answered holding out his hand. Inside his pocket his pager began going off. Grimacing in apology he pulled it out and read the number. "I'm sorry. It's my wife. Can I use your phone?"

"Sure. It's right down the hall on the right." Laura said directing him to the right room.

She turned back around to see Steve watching her. "He's nice." She admitted grinning up at him. "John go put up your toys. Steve needs to unwind." Grabbing her husband's hand she pulled him into the house. Walking down the hall they were stopped by a shell shocked Page.

"Man are you okay?" Steve asked concerned.

"That was Kimberly. She wanted to tell me why she's been so bitchy." He paused to take a deep breath. "She's pregnant."


	5. ball game

Present

"Hey, what are you doing here?" John asked opening the door to his hotel room.

"Bored, wondered if you want to play playstation or something." Randy said shrugging his shoulder.

"Sure." John said holding the door open wide. Eyeing the other man he walked over to the TV to hook up his game system. "What do you want to play?" He asked holding up some games. "Basketball, baseball, wrestling?"

"I don't care." The younger man said throwing himself into a chair. "Basketball's fine."

"So what did you do?" John asked as he inserted the game. He looked up to see Randy studying his hands. "Randy I grew up with you. When ever you act like this you're feeling guilty about something."

Randy frowned at his brother. "Mom and Dad went away this weekend for their anniversary but Becca wants to have this big family dinner on Tuesday." He started.

"I know. She called and told me I have to come." John told him.

"That's the thing. I don't want to go." Randy said dropping his head on the table.

"And that makes you feel bad because their you're parents." John guessed as he studied his younger brother. "I bet I know the reason you don't want to go and it has nothing to do with the parentals. She's going to be there."

"Don't start." Randy warned, getting up to pace.

"You're going to have to talk to her sometime." John warned him.

"Thanks John. You really helped me figure this out." Randy growled before slamming out the door.

"Guess I'm playing by my self." John mused picking up the controller.

Spring 1985

Steve rolled his eyes as his phone rang for the third time in the last half hour. Dallas Page grinned from his position in the passenger seat. "Laura." He said answering the phone. "I told you I would be there. We ran into some traffic."

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just that he keeps asking where you are." Her worried voice came over the line.

"Where's he at right now?" Steve asked as he negotiated a turn.

"They're out on the field warming up. The coach is going to let him play third base today."

"That's great." Steve said excitedly. "He told me he planned to hit the ball out of the park."

"It's tee ball. They can't hit it that far." Laura said dryly.

"He was excited." He answered laughing. "Is everything ready for the party?"

"Uhh, don't remind me of the party. Fifteen six year olds running around screaming. Make sure you're home for that part of the day." She warned in a dangerous voice.

"Don't worry about that. I'm bringing reinforcements."

"Good. Oh no here come the rugrats. Get here soon, please!" She wailed before hanging up.

Steve grinned as he pulled into a parking spot at the park. Getting out the group walked toward the bleachers surrounding the ball field.

"She's over there." Dallas said pointing toward a lone figure surrounded by a dozen red uniforms.

"Should we rescue her?" Steve asked grinning.

"She'll probably kill you if you don't." He said cracking up.

Steve shrugged as they walked up behind the group. They were able to hear snatches of the ongoing conversation as they got closer.

"Laura, when's Steve getting here?" John asked jumping up and down.

Laura held up her hands. "I just talked to him. He'll be here soon."

"I don't think he's really coming." One of the bigger boys sneered. "You're probably making him up."

John's hands balled into fists. "Take that back." He yelled stepping forward.

"John." Laura warned stepping between the two children.

"He called you a liar." John challenged.

"Yes he did and that was very disrespectful." Laura agreed. "But that is no reason to resort to using your fists."

"I think taking away his invitation to the party would be a better punishment." Steve spoke up from the outskirts of the crowd. He grinned as everybody swung in his direction and jaws dropped.

"Steve." John shrieked jumping up and down.

"Hey buddy, did I miss the fun?" He asked.

"Na, just in time." John grinned his approval. His gaze switched to the group gathered behind the big man.

"Everyone, these are some of my friends. This is Dallas Page and his wife Kimberly, and this is Roddy Piper."

After everyone had cheered and greeted the wrestlers Steve looked back at John. "So what do you think? Should we leave him out?"

John watched as the bully's face fell. "Na, he can come as long as he apologizes."

The bully bit his lip as he thought about his options. "I'm sorry Miz Laura for not believing you." He said grudgingly.

"Thank you." She responded seriously.

"Okay, not that that's all settled, how about we play ball?" Steve asked, causing cheers to come up.

Laura waited until all the kids had run off before she approached her husband. "Perfect timing." She said giving him a kiss.

Later in the game.

"He's so serious." Laura murmured as they watched John crouch over third base. He bit his lip as his eyes tracked every movement of the ball.

"He's competitive." Steve murmured, jumping up to yell as John caught the ball in time to tag out the runner for the third out. He smiled wide when John held up the ball and grinned in their direction.

"He's really good." Steve said once he had sat back down.

"He should be, he's constantly throwing the ball through the house. You've had to replace three windows in the last month." She said dryly.

"Yea, but none in the last week. He believed me when I said I would bust his butt if he broke another one." He responded rolling his eyes.

"Um, not exactly." She murmured not meeting his eyes. "I haven't told you about the incident this morning." She winced as he growled. "He was excited and it's his birthday. I told him to consider it a birthday present."

"Well he's still going to get a talking to when he helps me replace the window." He responded sternly. "Tomorrow." He added when she shot him a look.

"Hey, your kid's up to bat." Page said poking his friend in the shoulder.

The pair gave their attention to the game in time to see John take his stance in front of the tee ball stand. Biting his lip he swung his body around, causing the bat to connect with the ball. Dropping the plastic bat he took off running, to the cheers of the crowd. Hitting third base he hesitated for a second unsure whether to continue. At the urging of his couch he took off, leaping into a slide and causing Laura to wince as his body slid over home base. She let out her breath when he jumped up shouting.

"Did you see that Dad?" He yelled jumping on the fence before rushing into the dugout to celebrate with his friends.

Steve waved at him in happy surprise even as he felt Laura stiffen beside him.

"I'm going to need a whole bottle of shout out to clean that uniform." She said giving him a fake smile.

"Laura." Steve began unsure what to say.

Jumping up she waved him off. "I'm going to get something to drink. Does anyone want one?" She asked before jumping off the bleachers.

Sighing Steve looked at his friends for help.

"I'll go talk to her." Kimberly reassured him groaning as she struggled to raise her very pregnant belly off the seat. Carefully she maneuvered her way down the slick metal seats.

Later at the party.

"Hey" Steve said coming up behind his wife. "Did we have enough pizza?" He asked.

"How could we not. I think you bought out the pizzeria." She responded dryly.

Steve shrugged. "Hey, we've learned exactly how much little boys can eat." He sighed when she smiled sadly at him. "Are you going to be okay?" He asked putting his arms around her.

"It was just hard hearing him say that today. He's so much more attached to you." She shrugged the pain away.

"I don't think he meant to say it that way. He just got caught up the spirit of the game." Steve said trying to explain it away.

"I know. But it's not just that. When you're home he wants you to tuck him in. to play ball with him or to take him places."

"There's a reason why he acts like that." He turned her around to face him. "Who was his primary parent before the accident? The one that tucked him in and played with him?"

"His mother."

"Who does he miss the most?"

"His mother."

"And who is going to be the hardest to replace?" He asked raising his eyebrows.

"His mother." She admitted.

'Its instinctive. He doesn't want to be hurt like that again. Just give him a little more time." Steve suggested as they watched him race around the yard.

"Kimberly looks like she's going to pop." Laura said changing the subject.

"Page gets more nervous by the day." Steve said laughing. Turning serious he asked her. "Is it hard being around her, knowing you're never going to experience that?"

"Are you kidding. In my opinion that's the worst part of having a kid. But it does make me think about having another one. There are lets of kids out there that need families."

"Hmmm, another Dennis the menace. I think I need to invest in a window making company." He said causing her to laugh.

"You're impossible." She said breaking his hold. "I'm going to go make sure the cake's ready."

Piper waited until she had walked away before he approached his friend. "Have you told her yet?" He asked.

Steve shrugged. "I don't think today's a good day for it. Too much going on."

"The offer won't stay open for long."

"I know but it's not just about me anymore. I have a family now." He turned to grin at his friend. "Did you see how he hit that ball? He's been talking about playing soccer this summer and then it'll be time for football again and school starts in the fall." Steve shrugged his shoulder. "I'm just not sure he can take another change right now."

"What are you going to do if you pass upon this job? Go back to managing a business? How happy is that going to make either one of you?"


	6. Moving

Hey everyone. New chapter. I hope you enjoy. And in case you didn't know Jim Hellwig is the ultimate Warrior, someone Sting really did start his wrestling career out with. If you feel like talking I have a new forum, Wrestling news and notes. Check it out and happy reading.

Present

John cursed as the knock on the door caused him to foul out on his game. Setting down the controller he stalked to the door and yanked it open. "You could of at least waited until I won the game before coming back." He growled before recognizing the person standing in front of him.

"Oh hi. Sorry, I thought you were someone else." He said motioning the young lady to come in.

"That's okay. Were you expecting someone else?" Ashley asked as she walked across the room.

"What? No, my brother was here earlier and he was kind of upset. I though he might be coming back but its unlikely." He answered her as he picked up some clothes and threw them in the closet.

"I didn't know you had a brother." She said smiling as she watched his antics.

"Yea, I actually have four, and three sisters." He answered grinning.

She gaped at him. "You're kidding right?"

"No." John said sprawling over the bed. "I'm the oldest."

"Your poor mother. I could't imagine delivering that many kids." She said sitting down on the bed next to him.

"Will it get me some sympathy if I tell you I was adopted."" He asked hopefully.

Ashley grinned at his puppy dog look. "Maybe." She answered bending down to kiss him.

One week after ball game

"Man, why can't I go outside?" John grumbled as he tossed his ball form hand to hand.

Laura looked up from where she was doing paperwork. "Because it's raining cats and dogs." She responded.

"But how am I supposed to play baseball?" He whined.

"You'll survive one day without playing." She said dryly.

"Please mom." He pleaded sweetly, causing her to look up in surprise. "Steve said it would be okay if I called you that." He said looking uncertain.

Laura got up and walked around the desk. Bending down she gave him a fierce hug. "I would like that very much."

John shuffled his feet in embarrassment before he looked up with a gleam in his eyes. "So can I go out and play all?" He asked hopefully.

Laura laughed as she pushed his hat down over his eyes. "No but for that you can go clean your room."

She waited until he had slumped out of the room before she called out. "You can come in. I know you're there." She crossed her arms as her husband rounded with corner with an innocent expression on his face.

"And I suppose you set him up to that?" She accused, a small smile on her face.

Steve shrugged. "He'd been thinking about it, just didn't know how to approach you."

"Well thank you." She said leaning over and giving him a small kiss. "Now what about you?"

"What do you mean?" Steve asked as he settled into a chair.

Laura spared him a look as she walked around the desk and sat down. "You've had something on your mind all week so spill it."

Steve shifted in his seat. "It's just that the company I currently work for is gong down the toilet and will probably be closing soon."

"Are you all really that bad?" She asked without thinking. Shocked she covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh honey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"Actually." He said leaning forward and glaring at her. "A group of us superior" he placed emphasis on the word. " wrestlers have been contacted by a talent scout for one of the big companies."

Laura was relieved to see the twinkle in is eyes. "That's great honey."

"Yea, it's the whole group too. Page, Piper, Jim Hellwig."

"Why do I feel like there's a but coming on?" She asked quietly.

"Well." He winced. "The new company's based on the east coast."

"Oh." She sat back as she thought about it. "And we live on the west coast. That's a lot of travel time."

"Which cuts down on the amount of time I get to spend at home." He finished for her.

"Well honey, it's a wonderful opportunity for you. You know John and I will give you all the support you need." She said coming over to sit in his lap.

"I could give up wrestling and become a business manager or investor. I have the degrees for it."

"That's very sweet of you honey, but no." She kissed him on the forehead. "You would be miserable and you would make us miserable."

"Very true." He sighed. "Second option would be to relocate. Your Santa Anita stables are self sufficient and you could hire a good manager."

She frowned. "I wouldn't be very happy without my horses."

"What about Sarasota, Florida. They have a big racetrack there. You could start up a second stable." Steve suggested hopefully.

Laura winced. "I would never raise my horses or my children in Florida. It's a very nasty, dirty place."

They lapsed into silence unsure how to fix the problem they faced.

"How about Kentucky?" She asked after several minutes. "Lexington. My family has the big horse ranch there and it's a great place to raise kids. My father would love to have John around."

Steve smiled in relief. "Perfect."

"We couldn't move for a little while. I would have to find a manager and train them. We would have to find a house, unless you want to live with my father. He has the room but I think we need our own place."

"Laura honey, slow down. We don't have to do this all in one day." He gathered her into his arms. "Thank you." He whispered.

"We'll always work things out." She assured him, kissing him back. "Now you better get back to your other job. Parenting. Your son is outside playing in the rain after I told him repeatedly not too."

One month later May 1985

"Hey guys." Steve said as he joined them at the bar after the show. "Last night here."

"And we made it count didn't we?" Jim Hellwig shouted as he raised his beer.

"You guys still planning to head to Kentucky?" Page asked as he poured his friend a beer.

"Yea, but not for another couple of months. Laura's still got of bunch of stuff she's got to do." He informed them. "What about the rest of you? Any plans yet?"

"Kimberly's staying with her mom until the baby comes. We're going to wait until the monster's a little older before moving." Page said laughing when they ragged on him for calling the baby a monster.

"They don't reach that status until they get older." Steve told him, relating the most recent incident with John.

"What about you Roddy? Any plans?" Page asked once they had all stopped laughing.

He shrugged. "I've got a lot of friends in the St. Louis area. I'd thought I'd stop there for a while. See if I like it."

"Come on guys. This is our last night in this dump before we hit the big time. Lets celebrate." Jim howled as he began dancing to the music.

Steve laughed as he watched the antics. Lifting his beer he saluted his friend. Turning he looked over at the other two. "I think he's a little drunk."

"And we're running behind." Page said as he dug his phone out of his pocket. 'Hello?' He answered shouting to be heard over the crowd. "What?"

Unable to hear he walked outside to the quiet. "What?" He asked again.

Five minutes later he came running back inside, his face white and his eyes wide. "I'm having a baby!" He shouted.

"Now?" Steve asked jumping up.

"Now." Page answered laughing hysterically. "I have to get to the hospital. I need to pick up some roses. Where do I get roses this time of night?" He asked looking around wildly.

Steve grabbed his friend's arm. "Calm down. I'll drive you."

Later that night.

"She's beautiful isn't she?" Steve asked as the three friends gathered in front of the nursery windows.

"Small" Jim said as he read off the information. "Alexis Page. Five pounds three ounces."

"Yea, but you can already tell she's going to be a sweetheart." Piper pointed out as the newborn in question gazed serenely at them while the five other infants in the nursery screamed their lungs out.

"Kind of makes you want to have one." He mused.

"Not a newborn. I'd be afraid of dropping it. But another kid?" Steve said thinking of John. "Yea I think I can get into that.

July 1985

"Any more boxes upstairs?" Steve asked as he carried his load out to the moving truck.

"No, that should be the last of them." Laura replied as she yelled out across the yard. "John, get your bags. We're almost ready."

The little boy kicked his soccer ball against the side of the house. "I'm not going." He yelled back.

Laura sighed as she walked over to him. "So I guess you're going to really miss us aren't you?"

"Why do we have to move?" He asked sulking.

"Because we're mean and we like to torture you." She said in a fake pirate's voice, eliciting a small smile out of the boy.

"But I have baseball and soccer here." He whined kicking the ball harder.

"My goodness, what horrible parents we are, taking you to a place where there's no soccer." She teased.

"It's not the same." He pouted.

"Nope, it's going to be even better. You know by the time we get settled it'll be time to sign up for football. But if you don't want to play that's okay." She said watching him out of the corner of her eye. She smiled when he began picking up his balls.

"Now you have two options. You can get in the truck and pout or you can be a man and help your father move the big stuff." Laura said as she turned to see Steve lounging against the house watching them. "It looks like he's having trouble."

"I'm big enough to help him." John yelled, shoving his bag of toys at her and running for the front of the house.

Steve narrowed his eyes at his wife. "Are you saying you think I'm weak?"

"Well maybe you need to prove to me that you're not." She murmured sliding he body up against him.

"Steve I'm ready to help." John called from the front, causing both adults to groan.

Steve waited until they were settled into a hotel for the night before he described the house he had found. "It's a couple blocks form your father's house. The man who owns it is retiring and moving to Florida."

"What's the address?" She asked thinking of the neighborhood she had grown up in.

"It's called Mallard Manor." He informed her, rattling off the street address.

"What's a mallard?" John asked sitting up in bed.

"It's a duck." Laura informed him. "The place used to have a large pond full of them that the driveway curved around. But Mr. Minnosa's let a lot of things slide in the last ten years. The house needs a lot of work."

"We can work at it and make it our own." Steve said earnestly. "The place has seven bedrooms and a room we can turn into an office. It even has a stable and ten acres of land so you can have a few of your own horses."

"More horses." John groaned, flopping back onto the bed.

"That's a lot of room for just the three of us." Laura pointed out.

"Well, I was kind of hoping that once we got settled it wouldn't just be the three of us anymore." He kissed her fingers, watching her eyes light up with love.


	7. ghost

Hey everyone. No I did not forget about this story. But unlike the family series it is not running through my head constantly. However I am pleased how this chapter turned out and I hope you like it. I hope to have another chapter out soon. Thank you for your patience.

Happy reading.

Present

"Why did you do this to us?" Laura cried as the bigger of the men tied her hands to the bedrail.

"I have my reasons." The second man replied as he lounged in a chair. "You'll find out soon enough."

"You left him there to die." She wailed as she tugged at her bonds. "Please you have to help him."

He laughed cruelly. "If I had any luck at all he would already be dead." His gaze shifted to the other man. "Leave her alone. She 's mine first and foremost. You'll get anything that's left over."

The bigger man grumbled as he stalked into the second room. His partner in crime shook his head as he watched him go. "You can't get good help nowadays." He complained as he picked lint off his suit.

"Like you're any better." She spat at him.

Eyeing her he picked up a short bullwhip from the table beside his chair. "I would be careful about how you treat me." He advised as he wrapped the whip around her calf, leaving a large red welt. "I'm in control here. I've already done away with your husband. Do you want me to start with the rest of your family?" He asked calmly.

"You leave them alone." She raged, tugging at her bonds until her wrists were slippery with blood.

"I do love it when they don't learn their lesson the first time." He smiled evilly as he swung the whip.

1985

Steve smiled as he hammered on the nail to the front stairway. He could feel the warm sun beating down on his shoulders, though every once in a while a cold breeze snaked up his back.

"You should have a sweatshirt on. Your mom will have both our heads if she comes home and catches you without one." He said looking over his shoulder at his son.

John shrugged his shoulder as he sat slumped on the bottom stair. Frowning in concern Steve laid down his hammer down and turned to face the little boy. "Are you sick?" He asked as he studied the forlorn figure.

John shook his head. "We have a ghost in the barn." He announced unhappily.

Steve cocked his head. "I thought you liked ghosts. Aren't they cool?" He asked.

John sneered. "They're okay, but this one keep stealing my toys. How can I practice catching the baseball if he keeps taking it?"

His father raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure you aren't making him up so you won't get in trouble for losing the ball?"

"Dad, he's real. I've seen him. He's a boy just like me." He looked up suddenly. "Do ghosts have to go to school?"

"What does he look like?" Steve asked in growing concern.

John shrugged. "I don't know. He's got my soccer ball too. Can you make him give it back?"

"Have you asked him to give it back?" His father asked as he gazed in the direction of the barn.

"Yea, but he only talks to the horses." He looked quickly up at his father. "But I share my stuff with him. I even take him food, cause he looks really hungry."

"Does he eat the food?" Steve asked as he stood up. He held out his hand for his son before walking in the direction of the large structure.

"He always waits until I leave. But sometimes I hide and watch him." The little boy confided.

Steve nodded as they came to the door of the barn. "Where does he usually stay?" He asked softly.

"With Sasha."

"Sasha?" The older man asked confused.

"The white horse with the brown legs. He talks to her the most." John answered as he jumped around. "Are you going to make him give me back my baseball?"

"If he has it I will." He murmured. He turned to look down at his son. "Stay here."

As quiet as he could he walked into the barn. Letting his eyes adjust he looked down the aisle for the white horse.

"Sasha's down this way." A voice whispered behind him causing him to jump. He turned to frown down at his son.

"I told you to wait outside." He admonished.

John shrugged as he led the way toward the stall. "He knows me." He paused to peer been the slates of the door. "He's in there. He looks really scared. Do ghosts get scared?'

Steve moved forward quickly to peer over the top of the door. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of the young boy curled up in the corner. He started to open the stall door but was stopped by a small hand on his leg.

"You can't go in there. Sasha doesn't know you. She'll get mad and kick him." John instructed him.

Steve smiled slightly. "Your mom will be interested to know that you do listen to her." He bit his lip as he thought about the situation. "Run down to the office and see if anyone's there."

John was already shaking his head. "They all went out to the back forty today. Remember, mom said she wouldn't be back for dinner. They're going have a picnic and they wouldn't let me go." He sulked.

"Well it's a good thing you didn't go. I need your help." He smiled when the little boy perked up. "I'm going to lead Sasha out, but I need you to close the door so the ghost doesn't get out. And don't go in there with him." He added sternly.

Grapping a lead rope he hooked it on to the horse's halter, cooing soft words to keep her calm. Nodding to John he led her out the open doorway, wincing when the door slammed shut.

"If he wasn't scared before, he is now." He muttered under his breath. Tying the horse off in the aisle he approached the stall, relieved to find his son on the outside.

Cracking open the door he slithered inside, being careful to move slowly. He could feel the young boy watching him with fear filled eyes. Returning the gaze he surveyed the child in front of him. There were bruises down the front of his legs, one that looked suspiciously like a boot print. His feet were bare and covered in flecks of dried blood. The same blood was smeared across his face, coming from either his nose or the cut above his eye; Steve was unable to tell which.

"It's okay." He said softly as he moved in closer. "We won't hurt you." He inched forward some more, stopping when the child cringed in fear.

"Dad does he have my baseball?" John asked as he tried to peer through the slates on the door.

"John I need you to be quiet." Steve called out. "That's my son. You've seen him around here before. I don't hurt him and I'm not going to hurt you." He continued softly.

He slowly reached out as the boy's whimpers increased. "We can go into the house and get warmed up."

"We have hot chocolate. It's really good." John called out, trying to help.

Steve resisted the urge to turn around and yell at his son. He concentrated on drawing the small figure towards him as his hand gently encircled his wrist. His grip tightened involuntarily as the boy started screaming in pain, thrashing to get away. Steve could feel the small bones grind against each other.

Realizing the wrist was broken he released his grip and backed away, staring in horror at the figure curled up in a ball of pain. Closing his eyes he slipped out of the stall.

"What happened?" John asked, curious about the screaming.

"He's not ready to go inside just yet." He said rubbing his hands over his face. He looked down at his son. "Can you make that hot chocolate you were talking about? On your own?"

John nodded. "I have to use a chair to reach it. I put it in the microwave."

Steve nodded absently. "Why don't you go make him a cup? I'm sure it will make him feel better."

"Is he scared?" John asked instead. "You need to put Sasha back in. It'll make him feel better."

"Go please." Steve said giving him a little push toward the door. Walking in the opposite direction he headed to the tack room to find a blanket. Grabbing the warmest one he hurried back to the stall, seizing the portable phone from the office on the way.

Careful not to touch the whimpering child he covered him with the blanket before stepping out and dialing his wife's cell phone.

"I need you to come home." He said as soon as she answered.

"What's wrong? Is John okay?" She asked, worried by the tone of his voice.

"He's fine. But we have a problem and I'm a little out of my element here."

"Do I need to come right away?" She asked as she looked around. "We're in the middle of clearing this field."

Steve looked over the stall door at the shivering child. "Yeah, I think you need to come now."

A half hour later

Steve raised his head from the stall door as he heard the jeep pull up. He could hear John yelling in his excitement to get everything told. Glancing at the wounded child he was pleased to see that cup was lying on its side empty.

"What in the world is going on?" Laura asked as she walked into the barn.

Steve raised a finger to his lips to caution her to lower her voice then pointed over the stall door. Her eyes widened at the sight in front of her.

"Oh the sweet baby." She cooed as she slipped inside. Singing in a soft voice as if calming a horse she gathered him into her arms, being careful where she placed her hands.

"Now why wouldn't he let me do that?" Steve whispered.

"Most likely it was a man that did this to him." She answered, weaving the words into the song.

The hospital

Steve sat in the waiting room talking to the responding officer. "No, my wife's in the room with him. He wouldn't let go of her."

The officer nodded. "We're familiar with him. Names Brent London. Four years old and been in the hospital practically the entire time. Father's a real bastard, always kicking the boy around.

"Why hasn't someone done something about it before now?" Steve asked outraged.

The officer shrugged. "He always seems to slip through the system."

Steve sighed in disgust. "Some system." He muttered. Raising his voice he asked. "How do you think he ended up in my barn?"

"Last I heard old man London was living in the small shack on the edge of your property. Boy probably wondered down from there." He made a few notes on his pad. "Okay that will about do it for me." He said standing up.

"What will happen to him now?" Steve asked as Laura came through the doors.

"Probably what happens every time? CFS won't take him because he has to be sedated. Nurses can't watch him every minute. Old man London wanders in and carries him out."

The officer explained as he walked out.

"They're just going to let that happen?" Laura asked, her eyes widening in revulsion.

Steve nodded as he related what the officer had told him. "We're not going to let that happen." He assured her. He leaned in to kiss her. "Go stay with your newest son. I have something I need to take care of."

One hour later Steve stood outside the small shack. He gazed at the structure for a minute before he kicked open the door and took a cautious step inside. Finding the room empty he took the time to survey the contents.

One bed with a filthy mattress and one measly blanket. Spotting a pile of hay in the corner Steve growled in disgust. "I bet that's where he made the boy sleep." He muttered. He shifted through the hay until his fingers touched the edge of a picture frame. Pulling the small object out he gazed down at the picture of a young women. "Bet you're his mother."

He searched the rest of the small room finding nothing else of consequence. Outside he grabbed the gas cans he had brought, throwing the contents on the building. "You will never use my property to abuse someone." He shouted as he tossed the lighted match.


	8. Thank you

Three months later

"Hey." Steve said as he walked up behind his wife. "How's the ghost doing?" He asked as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Don't call him that." She responded, swatting at him. "You'll brand him for life."

Steve shrugged as he sat down his bag. "He's so quiet you hardly know he's in the room."

She sighed. "It's going to take time. He's becoming more animated with the horses. I heard him telling Patches about John's ball game."

Steve smiled at that. "Next step is actually getting him on the field."

"Yeah right. It's hard enough just getting him to go to the games with me." She shook her head. "If it doesn't have a fur coat he's not talking to it."

Steve groaned as he lowered his tired body into a chair. "How's John handling his big brother role?"

Laura grimaced. "He's starting to get frustrated. He can't understand why Brent won't play with him."

Steve turned to eye his wife. "How frustrated?" He asked as he noticed the tone of her voice.

Laura bit her lip. "Yesterday he threw his ball at Brent's head." She paused. "Several times."

"Please tell me it was one of the nerf balls." He asked in a dangerous voice. When she nodded he continued. "What happened?"

"While I was dealing with John, Brent took off out the back door. I followed him, concerned it had brought back bad memories." She shook her head. "He was going from one horse to another, telling them the whole story."

"Great." Steve said as he closed his eyes. "We bring an abused kid into our home and our other son abuses him."

Laura smiled as she laid her hand in his. "He laughed Steve."

He stared up at her in horror. "John laughed at him?"

She hurried to correct him. "No, Brent laughed, when he was telling the story to the horses. He's never been around other children and John's finally starting to treat him like a normal kid. It's good for him."

"So John being a bad influence is a good thing?" Steve asked in confusion.

Laura laughed at the expression on his face. "You're cute when you're perplexed."

Steve raised his eyebrows as he looked at his wife. "And where are the boys now?"

Laura smiled in return as she slid into his lap. "Brent is outside with Roger and John's at football practice."

She shivered in anticipation as he leaned up to nip at her earlobe. "That gives us about an hour."

That night Dinner time

"John, pass the rolls to your brother." Laura instructed as she scoped some green beans onto his plate.

Making a face John grabbed a roll out of the dish and lobbed it across the table. He groaned when it sailed right by the other boy's hands and onto the floor. "Dude, you're supposed to catch it."

"John, don't throw food at the table or anyone at the table." Steve told him in a relaxed voice.

"But it's fun." The little boy protested.

"Fun enough to lose your TV time tonight?" His father asked pleasantly.

John pouted but obediently passed the basket of rolls. "You're supposed to say thank you." He grumbled when Brent accepted the food.

"John." Laura warned.

He rolled his eyes, but sat calmly eating, waiting for his next chance.

"Page and Kimberly will be up tomorrow." Steve said starting the conversation for the grownups.

"Have they finally decided to move out here?" Laura asked as she kept on her eye on John.

Steve shrugged. "Page is tired of commuting and they don't know anybody on the east coast but us so they thought they would check out the neighborhood." He informed her.

She smiled. "I'm looking forward to playing with the new baby."

"Yuck, it's a girl." John said disgusted. He rolled his eyes dramatically.

"The house next door is for sale." She continued ignoring the youngster's gagging motions.

Steve hesitated. "I thought about that but I didn't know if you would feel it was too close."

"Steve, we live on ten acres. I don't think that's going to be a problem."

Seeing that his parents' attention was elsewhere John picked up a spoonful of green beans. He looked over at his intended target, surprised to find his new brother staring at him with a grave look on his face.

'Thank you.' The other boy mouthed before he threw a spoonful of mashed potatoes. John couldn't contain his laughter as he flung his own spoonful. "You're welcome." He mouthed back.

"Well I can see two little boys are going to be helping me clean up this mess." Laura observed dryly.

"That's okay." John shouted as he picked up another spoonful.

Steve reached out and took the spoon from him. "Enough's enough." He said sternly though he couldn't help smiling.

Laura waited until the two boys had done their share of kitchen duty. "Did you see him throw the potatoes?" She asked excitedly.

"Did you see John's face when he did?" Steve laughed.

She glanced over at her husband. "You know if they keep this up we're going to have a big problem."

Steve grunted. "I say we already have a problem and his name is John." He grinned as he drew her into the circle of his arms. "And I'm glad we do."

The next day.

"They're here, they're here." John shouted as he jumped off the couch.

"Indoor voice." Laura pleaded as she walked to the door.

"Where's Brent?" Steve asked as he came up behind her.

"He retreated to the barn. He's still anxious around strangers."

"Page!" John yelled as threw open the door.

"Hey buddy." Dallas said as he caught the whirling bundle of energy. "We need to be quiet okay. Lexi's sleeping." He indicated the infant in the stroller.

Laura immediately bent down to coo. "Oh she's beautiful." She gushed as she feathered her fingertips through the dark curls.

"She's a girl." John made a face as he tugged on Page to get his attention. "I have a new brother."

"I heard." The wrestler said dryly. "What happened? Did you eat him already?" 

"No." John said laughing. "He's out with the stupid horses."

"Don't use that word." Laura instructed absently as she patted the baby.

"Why don't you go out and see of you can get him to come in?" Steve suggested.

The Barn

"Brent." John yelled down the long row of stalls.

The younger boy popped out of a stall with a frown on his face. He put his finger to his lips and made a shushing noise.

John rolled his eyes but he lowered his voice. "Dallas Page is here. He's a wrestler like dad and he's one of the coolest guys. You have to come meet him."

Brent shook his head and went back into the stall. The older boy growled but followed him in. "There's not even a horse in here." He observed in disgust.

Brent turned in a circle with a look of unease on his face.

John walked back out to look at the nametag on the door. "Where's Patches?" He asked.

Brent shook his head helplessly.

"And you can't ask anyone can you?" John said heaving a big sigh. "Hey Roger." He yelled down the hall.

A small wiry man stepped into the walkway. "You mind you don't startle me horses." The ex jockey called out, the irish lit soothing despite the sharpness of the tone.

"Where's Patches?"

Roger frowned. "We had a gate left open last night and that dang fool horse slipped out. He's hiding in the hills somewhere." He looked over in concern as Brent made a sound of distress. "Not a thing to worry about youngun. We'll catch him and bring him home." Smiling confidently he slipped back into his stall.

John was jerked out of boredom when Brent shoved past him and headed for the tack room. "Where are you going?" He asked exasperated.

Brent whirled around and shoved him back before putting his finger to his lips again.

Angry John stalked after him, ready to fight until he realized what the other boy was doing. "You aren't going to go after Patches are you? And on a horse?" John asked incredulous, barely keeping his voice at a whisper.

Brent nodded his head vigorously as he hauled stuff back and forth.

"How are you going to ride on of mama's big horses? You don't even reach their knees." He taunted.

Smiling determinedly Brent walked to one of the back stalls. Opening the door he led out a small pony. John's mouth dropped open. "I didn't know we had one of those." He watched as Brent walked the horse to a chair and clambered onto his back.

"I'm your big brother and it's my job to look after you." He said a little nervously. He climbed up on the chair. "I'm going with you." He eased himself onto the broad back of the small pony, clutching frantically at his brothers shirt as they began moving. "Stupid horse." He muttered.

House next door one hour later

"Are you sure you don't mind us living next door?" Kimberly asked nervously as she studied the house.

"I think it would be great." Laura laughed. "Its not like our kitchen windows are side by side but we will be close enough for the kids to play together."

The dark haired girl laughed. "I don't think John wants anything to do with Lexi at the moment."

"You never know. They might end up hooking up one day. And I am determined to get a girl myself. I am not living in a houseful of boys." She said determinedly.

"What do you think of the house?" Page asked as he walked up behind them.

"It's nice that it's on the edge of a really nice neighborhood and not out in the country like Laura but we'd still be neighbors." She studied the blue house. "It definitely needs a paint job but other than that its in good shape."

"Do you want to see the inside?" Steve asked as he held up the key. He led them up the long walk and opened the door. Laura and Kimberly were instantly awed over the wide entryway with the stained glass walls.

"Now Laura's going to want me to do something like this to our house." Steve muttered to Page. They followed the girls from room to room, occasionally rolling their eyes at the girls' comments.

"Oh I can see this being Lexi's room." Kimberly came to a stop in the doorway. She gazed at the deep window seat framed by a wall of bookcases. "The perfect place for a teenage girl to dream."

"Hey, she is never growing up to be a teenager." Page growled as he shifted the baby's weight in his arms. The girls just smiled at him as they continued the tour.

Close to an hour later they arrived back at mallard manor. "I really liked it." Kimberly said. "What do you think honey?"

"Page shrugged. "A house is a house. Doesn't make a difference to me." He answered causing his wife to roll her eyes.

Laura laughed. "I'm going to check on the boys. It's unusual for John to be in the barn for more than ten minutes."

Steve frowned at his watch. "It's been close to two hours. Do you think they're okay?"

She nodded. "Roger would have kept on eye on them. John's probably busy cooking up some scheme."

"Lets go." Kimberly said as she tugged on her husbands arm. "I want to show Lexi the horses." Page rolled his eyes but followed the group out the back door.

Laura stood on the back porch eyeing the tumble of black clouds. "We've got about fifteen minutes before it starts pouring."

Walking into the barn she searched out Roger. "There's a big storm coming up fast. We need to get the yearlings in."

The small man nodded. "Already on it. Did you tell those boys to rub that pony down before they put it back in the stall?" He called over his shoulder.

"What?" Steve asked in alarm. "The boys aren't here?"

The grey head popped up. "I saw Brent leading the pony out. Seeing as how he's the most behaved little boy on this green earth I figured you were with him."

Laura swallowed nervously. "No. Why would they have taken the pony?" She asked a little desperately. "John doesn't even get near them if he can help it."

Roger squinted his eyes in thought. "They were asking about Patches and the little one seemed a bit upset."

She groaned. "I didn't think to tell him about the horse before he came out here." She turned to the others. "His favorite horse is running loose over the fields." She explained.

"Are you saying my sons are out there in this weather on top of a horse?" Steve exclaimed.

Laura nodded. "Actually it's a pony, only about half the size of a normal horse. Brent's ridden her plenty of times."

"That makes me feel loads better." He grumbled.

Laura pushed her hands through her hair. "I'll get Sasha, go after them on horseback. Grab the jeep and hit the access road. Maybe you'll be able to spot them."

"I'll wait in the house." Kimberly offered as she lifted her daughter out of her husband's arms. "Maybe one of the neighbors will spot them and call."

"It can't be that hard to find them. You only have ten acres." Page pointed out.

Laura shook her head. "Our land butts up against the back of my father's land. He has over 300 acres. That's why we couldn't find Patches this morning." She explained as she saddled her horse.

Out in the hills.

"Do you know where we are?" John complained as he hunched his shoulders against the strong wind.

Brent shook his head no, continually scanning the area for his friend.

"It's going to rain." The older boy pointed out. He sighed in frustration when his brother shrugged his shoulders. "We need to go home."

Brent looked around before holding up his hands, indicating he didn't know how.

"There's a road, we could just follow it." John suggested. He yelled when Brent suddenly flung himself off the pony and went running through the bush. "Don't leave me on this beast alone." He cried.

He looked around anxiously. "Giddy up." He urged the horse. The pony shook his head as if laughing. Hearing some rustling John looked up as Brent came out leading patches. "You left me alone." He yelled.

Before John could scramble off the pony they both heard the sound of the jeep.

"Uhoh." The little boy muttered as their father pulled up beside them.

Steve calmly climbed out of the jeep and walked over. He lifted john off the pony and ran his hands over both boys checking for injuries. "Are you okay?" He asked in a quiet voice.

John nodded, worried by the expression on his father's face.

"What the hell where you thinking. You know better. You don't go wandering off by yourself. Do you have any idea what could have happened? What if you had fallen off the horse? You could be seriously hurt and have no way to get help." Steve started, his anger tightly controlled. He raised his hand to run it through his hair. Brent jumped forward, holding tightly to Patches halter rope.

"Don't." He whispered.

Steve stared at him in shock as he reached out to touch the small boy. He kept still as Brent flinched away from his touch. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"You were going to hurt John and it's not his fault. I wanted to go and he only came along to keep me safe." Brent said in a rush.

John stared at his brother, a smile lighting up his face. "He wasn't going to hit me." He informed him. "But it's pretty cool that you tried to save me like I came along to protect you." He threw his arm around his brother.

"That's called being a family." Steve said as he shook his head. "And you both are in major trouble."

Present time.

Brent ignored the ringing cell phone in his pocket as he bent down to rub his hands along the swollen belly of the mare.

"That's it girl, just a few more minutes." He soothed the pregnant female. He growled in irritation as the phone started ringing again. Pulling it out of his pocket he turned it off and chucked it into the hay.

"Is she doing okay?" His girlfriend and assistant asked as she leaned over the stall door.

He nodded as he rocked back onto his heels. "Just a few more minutes here."

"That's good. The Wilson's called, Jilly's in labor and they want you there. And Mr. barker called, apparently Zeus got into some barbed wire. Bleeding's controlled but he's worried about infection." She informed him.

"Busy night." He murmured as he comforted the heaving mare.

"Everyone wants the best and that would be you Dr. London." She teased.

"Did you give my cell number out to any patients. The darn thing's been ringing off the hook." He complained.

"No way." She answered as she handed him some clean towels.

"Did I?" he asked looking up suddenly.

She laughed. "I doubt you even remember the number. You're the horse magician and I'm the detail person remember. Did you even try answering it?"

He smiled up at her. "Now why would I do that? You're the detail person." He teased. "Here we go, it's time." He said as water gushed onto the straw.


	9. Cowboy

Hey all. This chapter was a little bit harder to write than I thought it would be. But here it is so enjoy."

Early December 1985

"Hi." Laura said as she opened the door. "Steve's running some errands." She explained as she held the door open.

Piper nodded in greeting as he looked down at the little boy hiding behind her legs. "Hi, you must be Brent."

Laura laughed as he took off running. "He's still shy around strangers." She explained as she led the way into the kitchen.

"It's a good thing you're doing here, taking in kids." Piper started nervously.

"It makes us happy." Laura said.

"Have you considered taking in any more?" He asked avoiding her gaze.

Laura hesitated. "I definitely want more, but I want to wait a while, let John and Brent settle down some more." She poured him some tea. "Page and Kimberly will be moving in a couple of weeks. You should think about moving to the area." She teased.

He shrugged. "I'm pretty happy with St. Louis." He shifted restless in his seat.

"You look like you have some things on your mind." She said as she settled across form him. "You know sometimes it helps to have someone to talk too."

Piper nodded as he thought about it. "Steve's told you about my new partner in the ring?" He started. He continued when she nodded. "He's a nice guy at work, totally dedicated, very professional." He paused as he rubbed his head "We live in the same town so I invited him over to watch a game one day we were off last week. He was stinking drunk when he got there and mean with it."

"You've never seen him drunk before?" Laura asked softly.

Piper shook his head. "He barely drinks caffeine while we're on the road. But apparently he stays drunk 24 hours at home."

"Are you wanting to get him into AA meetings?" She asked.

He waved her question away. "I drove him home because I didn't want him driving."

"Of course not." She murmured.

"When I opened the door there was this little boy standing there practically naked. He was so thin I could count the ribs on him. He looked at me with these sad eyes before darting away. I could hear a baby crying in the background."

Laura covered her mouth with her hands and waited for him to continue.

"I shoved the cowboy in to a chair and I managed to get out of him that his wife had passed away a year ago giving birth to their daughter. When he passed out I went looking for the children."

"The boy, he's around three, is smart. Damn smart. He had bruises on him." He told her wretchedly.

"Please don't tell me that you left them there alone with him." Laura asked fearfully.

He shook his head. "I stayed the night. And when he sobered up the next morning I took him out back and beat the ever-living shit out of him. Told him he better clean up his act or the next time it would be worse." He looked up at her pleadingly. "He's a good man when he isn't drinking."

Later Laura related the story to Steve. "My heart goes out to those two little kids. No mother, their father going off the deep end. They're probably starving."

Steve frowned. "Do you think it would have been better if he had called DFS?"

She bit her lip as she thought about it. "I don't know. You know how I feel about foster homes."

Steve put his arms around her. "I'll keep in touch with Piper, make sure everything's staying okay." He assured her.

She smiled as she leaned back to kiss him. "Thanks honey."

Two months later

"Hey, kid." Piper said spotting the little boy sitting on the front steps of the house. He was relieved to see that the child was relatively clean and dressed appropriately for the weather.

"Hi." The little boy sneered.

"Kind of cold to be sitting out here." Piper observed as he sat down next to him. "Why aren't you inside?"

The kid shrugged. "Becca's sleeping."

Piper nodded as if he understood what the little boy meant. "Is your dad home?"

Another shrug. "He's watching TV."

"Have you eaten lunch?" Piper asked as he tried to tap down his impatience. When the little boy shook his head he made a suggestion. "Do you want to go to McDonalds?"

A quick smile lit the little boy's face before he frowned. "What about Becca?" He asked.

Standing up Piper reached for the little hand. "We'll bring her something back. Lets go tell your father we're going."

Later he sat down to talk to Cowboy Bob Orton. "Everything going okay?" He asked the other man.

Orton shrugged. "I'm clean and sober."

Piper nodded as he thought about how to word his next question. "Have you ever thought about hiring someone to help you out here, with the kids?"

Orton turned to frown at him. "I'm doing fine. I have that girl that comes and stays with them when I'm gone."

Piper frowned. "This is the same girl who left them with you while you were drunk?"

"It's hard to find someone to stay with the kids three days a week." Orton defended himself.

Unhappy with the situation Piper prepared to leave and was stopped by the little boy at the front door.

"Are you coming back?" He asked.

Piper smiled as he rubbed his hand through the boy's hair. "I'll be back next week." He assured him. "Maybe we can go to McDonalds again." He said, his heart lifting at the sight of the boy's wide smile.

April 1986

"How are the kids doing?" Steve asked his friend as they lounged in the arena seats.

Piper frowned thoughtfully. "Orton's remained sober and the kids are being taken care of but there's no emotion involved. He does what he has to and that's it."

"Hard way to grow up." Steve murmured.

Piper nodded. "Randy's so serious and solemn, always making sure his sister is okay. He never has any fun. I think I've been going more to give him a treat than to check on things."

"Is something else wrong?" Steve asked as he observed his friend's face.

The other man shrugged restlessly. "Orton feeds them. Surprisingly he can cook really well. I've even popped in unexpectedly at dinnertime to find them all at the table. And the little girl looks plump and healthy."

He rubbed at his hair. "I can't explain it but Randy's still really thin. Unnaturally thin. And last week I went into his room and found a stash of food. He's been hoarding it."

"Hoarding, but not eating?" Steve observed.

"Something's not right about the situation. We had the day off in between shows last week. Most guys opted to stay over, including Orton. The day happened to land on Randy's 4th birthday."

Steve frowned. "We weren't that far from St. Louis. He could have easily gone to see his kid."

Piper nodded. "But he didn't so I did.

The week before.

"Hi." Piper greeted the 23 year old who stayed with the kids on the weekends.

"Can I help you?" She asked warily, standing in the doorway. He could hear music blasting away in the background.

"I'm a friend of Bob Orton's. I'm here to see Randy." He said observing her glazed eyes and distracted manor.

"No can do. He's busy." She said before slamming the door shut.

He stared at the door in disbelief before knocking again. "Listen buddy I told you no deal. You keep harassing me and I'm calling the police."

"Go ahead. That way I can charge you with child endangerment, neglect. And I'm sure I can find a whole bunch of other stuff." He threatened smiling savagely.

She sneered at him. "They're out back somewhere." She waved him away before losing the door.

Shaking his head in disgust he walked around to the back. Opening the gate he scanned the small yard, spotting the dirty faces of the kids peaking out from the doorway of a rundown doghouse.

"What in the world are you doing in there?" He roared startling the kids into ducking back into he dark hole.

"Hey." He said softly ducking down and peering into the dark opening.

"Hi." Randy said putting his face close to the older man's. "What are you doing here?" He asked warily.

"I came to bring you your birthday present." Piper responded, pleased when the boy crawled out the small door.

The boy eyed him suspiciously. "Why'd you do that?"

Piper shrugged. "Because I like you and it's your special day." He said grinning as he rubbed his hand through the boy's hair. He looked around. "What are you doing out here?"

Randy looked at the house cautiously. "We're not allowed in the house when Geoff's over. Sherry doesn't like it." He explained.

The older man closed his eyes in despair. "Does this Geoff come over often?"

"Everyday. Sometimes he stays the night." The little boy told him.

"Where do you sleep when he stays over?"

Randy scooted back to the doghouse and pointed inside. "We have blankets and a nightlight. And Becca had to bring the bear you gave her." He flushed as his stomach rumbled.

"Hungry?" Piper asked trying to remain calm for the boy's sake.

He scuffed the toe of his shoe in the dirt. "Sherry doesn't have time to fed us. She said that's not part of her job."

"And that's why you have all that food in your room. Why don't you eat some of it?" Piper asked carefully.

"It's for Becca. I need to make sure she's okay."

Present

"Hey." Dave Batista said in greeting as his friend sat down beside him.

Randy studied the drink in Dave's hand with interest. "What's that? I want one."

"Trying to get drunk?" The big man asked in amusement when Randy tossed the drink back.

He shrugged. "My parents anniversary party is coming up and I don't want to go." He slid a glance over to the other man. "Does that make me a bad son?"

Dave glanced up in confusion. "I thought your mom was dead. Didn't Cowboy Bob raise you himself?"

Randy snorted. "Like that jackass could raise anything." He said bitterly.

"Am I missing something?" Dave asked taking the glass out of his hand before he could consume any more alcohol.

"It's a long story." Randy said waving the question away. He looked at his friend appraisingly. "Want to hear it?"


	10. Drop off

Hey everyone. I am back online and have a new chapter up. Enjoy and happy reading.

Present

"Okay, let me get this straight." Dave said as he supported a very drunk Randy down the hall of the hotel. "John is your brother and you were both raised by adoptive parents. What I don't understand is what where were doing there in the first place."

"Whatcha mean?" Randy slurred.

"Why didn't Bob Orton raise you?" Dave asked as he brought them to a stop in front of John's hotel room.

"Jackass." Randy muttered as he banged his head against the door.

"I got that part." Dave said dryly. "And stop that before you hurt yourself."

Randy turned to grin at his friend, losing his balance when the door was jerked open. Dave watched in amusement as he hit the ground hard. "Probably be better if you stay there." He advised the younger man.

"What the hell." John exclaimed as he took in the scene.

Dave looked up at the angry man in front of him, taking in the naked chest and unbuttoned shorts. "You know as loose as you wear those I'd be careful about moving around." Catching movement in the room he leaned over to peer in. "That's interesting."

Randy raised his head to see what was going on. "Dude you're bouncing Ashley?" He asked laughing.

John aimed a small kick at his side. "What are you doing here?" He asked turning to glare at the older man.

Dave shrugged as he continued to look amused. "Randy was telling me an interesting story." He started. "Aren't you going to help your brother up?"

John ran his tongue over his teeth. "Come on in." He invited opening the door wider. Grabbing Randy's arm he pulled him out into the hall. Dave muffled a laugh as he came back in alone and shut the door.

"You just going to leave him there?" He asked.

John shrugged as he turned to face Ashley. "Do you think we can pick this up later?"

She nodded as she gathered up her shoes. "Give me a call."

John waited until she had left before he turned back to Dave. "What did he tell you?"

"Not much." Dave admitted.

"So why are you here?" John asked. "In case you didn't notice I was in the middle of something."

"I had some questions that Randy didn't answer." Dave shrugged as he settled down in a chair. "How did you end up with the family?

"You know this is how it always is. Randy starts something and I have to clean up the mess." John muttered as he yanked on a shirt. "My parents died. Laura was my godmother and guardian."

"How did Randy end up there?" Dave asked watching carefully.

John shook his head. "That's his story. You'll have to wait and ask him."

Dave nodded in understanding. "Why did you decide not to tell anyone?" He asked next.

"We joined OVW pretty much at the same time. We had been involved in wrestling our whole lives. Guys that come into this company as brothers end up staying together as brothers, even in the ring. Neither one of wanted to be a tag team and we didn't want to have to sacrifice the other one to get ahead." He explained.

"How did you hide it for so long?" Dave asked in amazement.

John grinned at the look on his face. "We have different names and we used our original hometowns. We hung out with each other in OVW and by the time we joined WWE it was well known that we were best friends."

"You mentioned you were involved in wrestling your whole life. In what way?" Dave asked as he tried to put the facts together.

The younger man gave him a searching look. "Oh you know we watched it on TV and had backyard wrestling matches." He improvised. "With five boys we had some good matches."

"Five? How many were there of you?" He asked in shock.

John grinned. "He didn't tell you anything did he?"

Dave rolled his eyes. "He was pretty much gone after he mentioned you were his brother."

"Good." John said standing up. "You can ask him the rest after he wakes up." He grinned widely. "I need to get back to what I was doing." He said holding the door open.

"What about him?" Dave asked indicating the body sprawled on the floor.

John studied the sleeping figure. "He looks comfortable to me."

Summer 1986

"Steve, get the door will you?" Laura called out from the kitchen.

Frowning Steve put down the paper he was reading. "It's seven o'clock in the morning." He muttered under his breath as he walked to the front door. Pulling it open he stared in surprise at Bob Orton. "Hello." He said as he smiled in greeting.

The other man's return smile was strained. "Steve, I was wondering if I could talk to you and your wife." He said pulling the two kids from behind him.

Glancing down Steve studied the dark haired girl with her rosy cheeks and the rail thin boy with his brilliant blue eyes fixed in a defiant stare.

"Who're they?" John asked sleepily as he walked up behind his father.

Steve rubbed his hand over his son's hair. "This is Randy and Becca. I need to talk to their father so why don't you take them into the kitchen and get them some breakfast." He suggested.

John sneered but waved for them to follow them. At a small nudge from his father he reached out for the two year old's hand.

Seeing this Randy moved to intercept. "Don't touch my sister." He growled.

Steve watched as Orton placed a hand on his son's shoulder and squeezed tightly, causing the young boy to wince. "Don't cause trouble." He admonished gruffly.

Grim faced he waited until the kids had walked out of the room before he led the other man into the living room. "What's going on Orton?" He asked as he settled into his chair.

Orton shrugged as he paced around the room. "I've heard some of the other guys talking about how you take in kids that need help."

Steve nodded slowly. "My wife and I have taken in two boys that have needed us."

"I'm hoping you would be willing to take a couple more." Orton said gravely as he turned to face him.

"Steve, is everything okay?" Laura asked as she walked in the room. She raised her eyebrows at the level of tension.

"Did the kids get settled okay?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the other man.

"Yeah, they've all got cereal. But I don't want to leave them alone too long. What's going on?" She asked.

Steve glared at the nervous man in front of him. "Orton was just about to tell me why he wants to give away his children."

"It would be for their own good." The red face man stuttered as she turned to gape at him.

"They're your children." She argued.

"I'm not a good father." He argued back. "They would be better off without me."

"Well we all know that's true." Steve growled as he sat forward. "But instead of throwing them away like trash why don't you change and actually be there for them."

Orton shrugged. "Tried. Didn't work and I'm miserable." He said simply.

"You're miserable?" Laura asked outraged. "What about those two precious kids in there?"

"They would be happier with someone else." He yelled back at her.

Steve stepped in front of his wife. "Do not raise your voice to her."

"What right do you have to judge me?" The other man ranted, his face flushing red. "You don't know what's it's like, losing someone you love so much that you can't stand to look at her kids." He threw a vase across the room. "Every time I look at them I see her and my heart breaks again. I can't do it anymore. They're not worth going through that. "

Calmer he turned to face them. "If you don't want them give'em to someone else and tell them to call me when they want to do the paperwork." He announced before walking out.

"I can't believe he just walked out with no concern to his kids." Steve grumbled as he watched the car drive off.

"Steve." Laura said in a strangled voice causing him to turn around. His heart sank as he caught sight of the pale boy in the doorway. They watched as eyes dry he turned and walked into the kitchen.

Later that afternoon

"What do you want to do?" Laura asked as she stood at the window. Her eyes were trained on the little boy standing guard as his sister played.

"That bastard doesn't deserve children." Steve spat sitting at the kitchen table.

"No, and he's not getting them back." She said determinedly. She crossed her arms as she turned to face her husband. "They don't deserve that."

Steve shook his head. "No they don't. But." He hesitated. "Are we ready to take in two more kids?"

"Do we have a choice?" She asked giving him a small smile. "I've been saying how I wanted a little girl."

"We aren't prepared for more kids yet. We've been taking the reconstruction on the house slow. We don't even have bedrooms for them." He argued.

"So, we'll hire contractors and finish the remodeling. They can bunk in the den until we're finished."

"I'm gone a lot. You're the one that's going to have to take care of them. Four kids is a lot of work." He pointed out.

"We'll figure something out." She slid into his lap and put her arms around him.

"And what happens when we fall in love with them and he comes back and takes them away." He asked softly as he pressed his face into her.

"Then we deal with it. And in the meantime we give them the love and affection that they're starved for. Besides." She said rubbing a hand through his hair. "The decision was made as soon as they walked through the door."

He smiled. "You know me too well." He leaned into kiss her.

They broke apart at the sounds of yelling coming through the window. "Something tells me that isn't going well." Steve said ruefully as they got up.

Walking outside they found Randy and John facing off. Shaking her head Laura walked over and picked up the squalling toddler.

"What's going on here?" Steve asked as he walked up to the two boys.

"He was throwing rocks at the dog." John accused, folding his arms over his chest.

"I should have been throwing them at you." Randy yelled as he balled his fists.

Steve pushed John back when he started forward. "He's three years younger than you and he's had a bad day. Cut him some slack." He warned in a low voice. Turning he observed the defiant child in front of him. "Where you trying to hit the dog?"

Randy shrugged his shoulders. "No. Stupid dog walked in front of me."

Steve smiled. "Well that settles that." He turned as Brent walked up behind him.

"Is he going to be staying?" The six year old asked.

"If he wants too." Steve replied, ignoring his oldest son's groan. He raised his eyebrows to Randy. "What do you say?"

"What about Becca?" He asked suspiciously.

Steve indicated the small girl wrapped around his wife. "I think she's already decided."

Laura laughed as she walked over to John. "You know we need to fatten up your new brother. How about we go make some cookies."

John eyes the other boy speculatively. "He is pretty skinny. I could have taken him."

Steve rolled his eyes as he pushed John toward the house. "Are you coming?" He called over his shoulder.

One week later

"I'm looking for someone to clean the house and cook dinner. Child care will not be your primary duty." Laura informed the motherly women in front of her. "I want to be able to enjoy my children and not worry about doing laundry."

"They seem like they would be a handful." The visitor said as she glanced at them out the window.

Laura smiled. "They can be." She rifled through the papers in her hand. "Your references are excellent. You would be living in house. Would that be a problem Mrs. Lindsey?"

She shook her head. "My husband is deceased and my youngest child is in college. He has a life of his own now."

"Shall we go and meet the rest of the crew?" Laura suggested as she led the other lady to her husband's office. "Steve, this is Mrs. Lindsey."

"Just call me Nana. All my grandchildren do." She said holding out her hand.

"You don't look old enough to have grandchildren." Steve said causing her to smile. "Are you ready to become part of our Brady bunch?"

"I can assure you I'm used to rowdy boys."

"Well, you would be staying in what used to be the servant quarters. They need some work but we have a team of carpenters coming next week. You would have a bed room, bathroom and your own sitting room." He explained.

"That's fine." She agreed as the doorbell sounded.

"Let me show you the rest of the house." Laura said as she led her out of the room. She threw a look at her husband over her shoulder.

He sighed as he got up to answer the door. "Orton." He greeted the other man shortly.

"Steve, I'm happy you agreed to take the kids." Bob answered smiling warmly.

"Let's get this over with. I don't want you in my house any longer than necessary." Steve growled as he led the way back to his office.

"You have every right to hate me." The other man sighed. "Did you have the papers drawn up?"

Steve nodded. "I added a clause stating that if you ever come back and attempt to reclaim your children that they be allowed to decide their own fate."

Orton nodded. "Sounds fair but I can assure you that I won't be coming back." He said as he signed the papers in front of him without reading them. "Where's your wife?"

"She felt she would be sick if she had to be in the same room with you." Steve informed him as he sorted the copies. "Now get out."

Orton nodded as he turned around. He stopped seeing Randy standing in the doorway.

"Are we going home with you?" The little boy asked.

"No." He answered harshly as he pushed past his son.

"Why not?" Randy asked calling after him.

Orton stopped but didn't turn around. "Because I don't want you." He said before walking out the door.

Steve's heart broke as he watched the little boy's shoulders shake. Meaning to take him in his arms he moved forward. Unnoticed John slipped forward and approached the boy first.

"He's an asshole." The seven year old said, lowering his voice as he said the last word.

Randy gave a laughing sob as he half heartedly pushed at his new brother.

"I can still take you." John said slipping his arm around the other boy. "Let's go check out the new housekeeper. I bet she's afraid of snakes."


	11. Seperate them

So sorry it took me so long. I've had a case of writer's block. Happy reading.

Present

The old man grunted as he shuffled into the alley. Water seeped in through the scraps of material he had wrapped around his feet to protect them. Stuffing his arthritic fingers into the pockets of his damp coat he searched for a dry place to sleep. He tucked his chin down as he leaned to peer into a soggy cardboard box pulling back as two beady eyes glowed in the darkness.

"Ain't sharing my bed with no rat." He mumbled as he shuffled farther down the alley. He came to a stop as his foot connected with something hard.

"What's that?" He asked into the silence as he peered through the darkness. His back creaked ominously as he bent down.

"You there. You can't be here." He said, raising his scratchy voice. He peered at the body. "You dead?"

As the silence stretched out the old man began sticking his hands in various pockets, chortling for joy as he retrieved a wallet, a hotel key card, and a set of keys.

"Not stealing if he's dead." He decided. Happy now he shuffled behind the nearby dumpster where he was protected form prying eyes.

Fall 1986

"Time for bed." Laura called out as the clock struck nine.

"Ah come on mom. Can't we stay up a little longer?" John pleaded as he sent her his best puppy dog look.

"No, you've got school in the morning." She admonished as she directed a sleepy Brent up the stairs. "Go up to bed Randy. I'll get her." She said as she watched Randy shake Becca awake.

He looked up at her with solemn eyes. "I can do it. I'm use to it." He answered.

Laura sighed as she watched Randy lead his sister from the room. "It's been several months."

Nana smiled softly. "He's had a lot to overcome. It'll work out in time."

"Sometimes I don't know. He's still so protective of his sister. It's almost like he isn't living his life so much as protecting hers." She shrugged restlessly. "He should have been arguing with me about going to bed like John was.'

"You must be unhappy with the situation if you want him to be more like John." Nana cackled. "But maybe we need to keep them apart as much as possible." Nana suggested.

Laura frowned thoughtfully. "How would that help?"

"Maybe if he sees that she is okay with us when he is not around then he'll start to enjoy himself more."

"That might actually work." Laura mused. She leaned forward to discuss strategy with the older lady.

The next morning

"John, would you stop tormenting your brothers?" Laura asked in exasperation as she carried Becca into the room.

"But its fun." He grinned unrepentant.

"Eat demon child." Nana instructed in amusement as she sat a bowl of oatmeal down in front of him. "You have school this morning."

John wrinkled his nose. "I don't like school."

"I do." Brent said happily as he carried his empty bowl to the sink.

"You would." John sneered at his brother.

"John stop it." He mother admonished him. "Remember you have football practice this afternoon."

"Can Randy play with us?" John asked as he shoved oatmeal in eagerly. "He's really good at catching the ball." He shot a look at his brothers. "Brent is too but he don't like to play."

Laura smiled affectingly at her son. "He's too young for football but we'll see about soccer in the spring."

"Cool." He commented as he spooned up the last of his breakfast.

"Go get your shoes." She said as she wiped Becca's face. Lifting the little girl up she led her out of the room to get her dressed. Randy rose to follow.

"Hold it little man." Nana said putting her hand on his shoulder. "You need to finish your oatmeal." He frowned at the door but stayed where he was.

"Okay." Laura said ten minutes later. "We're leaving. Do you have everything?" She asked the boys as they pulled on their backpacks.

"I want to go." Randy said as he pushed away from the table. He showed Nana his empty bowl.

"Becca and I are going to run to the store after we drop the boys off. You promised Nana you would help her today."

He stared suspiciously at the older lady after they had left. "What's going on?"

She laughed and ruffled his hair. "You're too smart for your own good. Let's clean up here and we'll bake some cookies."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple days later

Laura smiled as she watched the two little girls play. "I can't believe she's almost a year old."

"They grow up so fast." Kimberly looked fondly at her daughter. "And then they turn into monsters."

"Tell me about it. Though I have to admit that Becca is the happiest and most well-behaved one I have now." She said rolling her eyes.

"What about Brent? I don't think I've ever seen him misbehave."

Laura laughed. "John could goad a saint into misbehaving."

"Where are the little monsters?" Kimberly asked as she pulled a small toy out of her daughter's mouth.

"Steve took them up into the woods." She shook her head. "I'm betting he comes home with John by the scuff of his neck, Randy with poison ivy and Brent missing all together."

Kimberly stared at her friend in amusement. "You don't sound like you have very much faith in Steve."

"Oh I have a lot of faith in my husband but I'm being realistic. I've learned form experience that you cannot handle all three boys by yourself. If I didn't have Nana I would go crazy."

"I count imaging having four. I barely keep up with her."

"So you don't think you'll ever have any more?" Laura asked. She missed the shadow that passed over her friend's eyes.

"I don't think that would be a good idea." Kimberly sighed.

Up in the woods.

"John don't get to far ahead." Steve called as he hefted Brent further on his back. He glanced behind him to make sure Randy was still with them.

"Hey, I found a snake." John's excited voice called back. Before Steve could react Randy had run forward.

"Don't touch it." Steve called out a little frantically as thoughts of poison snakebites floated through his head.

He sighed in relief as he came upon the two boys kneeling next to a small corn snake. Swinging Brent off his back he sat down on a rock and pointed out the various aspects of the reptile to the fascinated boys.

"Can we take him home?" John asked as he poked at it with a stick.

Steve laughed. "I don't think that would be a good idea. You mother would skin us all."

"We don't have to show her." He argued.

"But that's the thing about mothers. They always know." Steve ruffled his hair before he herded the boys down the trail.

Randy grinned in delight as he watched John hurridly stuff the snake in his pocket.

A week later

"Where are we going?" Randy asked as they drove down the driveway.

"We're going to your new school so we can meet your teacher." Steve answered glancing back.

"I think you'll like school." Laura smiled brightly as she turned around to look at him.

"But why do I have to go? I know how to read. And better than John too." He pointed out.

Laura suppressed another smile. "School will teach you all kinds of fun stuff that you don't know. Like math."

"What's math?" Randy asked interested.

"Well." She thought about it as she glanced at Steve. "How many people are in the car right now?"

"Three." The little boy answered, counting on his fingers.

"If I get out of the car how many people would be left?"

"Two." He answered pointing to Steve and himself." He grinned at her. "Nana says I'm too smart for my own good.

Steve laughed. "You're definitely smart all right."

"Why couldn't Becca come with us?" Randy asked after a couple minutes of silence.

"It was nap time." Laura pointed out, exchanging a look with Steve.

"But who'll take care of her if I go to school?" He asked frowning.

"We will. Do you trust us to do that?" Laura responded as she turned in the seat and gripped his hand.

He looked at her for a long time before nodding his head. "You'll make sure she gets enough to eat and stay's warm enough. And she likes to have her bear with her at all times."

Laura looked at him sadly. "We'll take very good care of her."

Steve parked the car and turned to look at the little boy. "You know you're a part of this family now, and I will do everything in my power to make sure you and your sister are safe." He continued when the little boy smiled. "Now get out. We're here."

Present

"Hey man, let's go down this way. It's a short cut." The first man slurred as he pointed down the alley.

"I don't think so. Besides it's too dark down there." The second man answered nervously.

"Don't be a wimp. The sun's coming up." The first man scoffed. He grabbed his friend's arm and pulled him along.

"Dude it's a dead end. There's a wall here." Annoyed he turned to go back, tripping over something in the process. "Shit. I'm all wet." He muttered as he pushed himself up. He noticed his friend staring at him in horror. "What's wrong?"

"You're covered in blood." He croaked. "You tripped over a body."

His friend began scrubbing at his clothes. "We have to get out of here."

"We can't leave him here." The first man protested.

"Are you crazy? We're drunk and I'm covered in his blood. What's the fist thing the cops are going to think?"

"So we'll call 911 and tell them. WE can be long gone before the cops get here." He said reasonably.

"You do that." The second man said as he pedaled backward.

Ten minutes later the first police cruiser pulled up. "Be careful. We don't know what to expect." He called to his partner as he swept his flashlight through the early morning gloom.

"There's the body." The second officer pointed. "I don't see anyone else around." He walked over and knelt down to feel a pulse.

"Call in the medics. He's still alive." He called out suddenly.

"Barely breathing." His partner observed after radioing for help. "No wonder. He's got a hole in his chest."

"Mugging gone wrong?" He wondered after checking the pockets. "He'll probably die a John doe."


	12. What to do?

I can't believe it's been over two months since I updated this story. I didn't really feel like writing tonight but I was reading the story over trying to get ideas and I got caught up again. So here is the next chapter. Thank you all so much for your patience. I promise I will try not to wait so long the next time. Happy reading.

Two years later. (In the past)

"John, if you bring one more snake into this house you're never going outside again. I mean it." Laura yelled out the back door at her eldest son as he combed the bushes near the house. Shaking her head she took the time to observe the rest of her clan. Brent was in the corral brushing down his pony. Horses were still the love of his life even after four years. Randy was kicking around a soccer ball, going around in circles where his sister sat playing tea with her friend.

"Did Kimberly say if she was going to be picking up the little one or is Princess Lexi staying for dinner again?" Nana asked as she sliced up pieces of potato.

Laura sighed as she turned away from the window. "She didn't say anything when she dropped her off."

Nana shook her head. "Something strange going on in that household if you ask me."

"She's just a little depressed. I've read that it can happen after the birth of a baby." Laura defended her friend.

"That baby's three already and it's just getting worse." The older woman pointed out.

Laura shrugged, wishing she wasn't involved in this conversation. "It's good for the girls to play together. Becca's so often overwhelmed by the boys."

Nana snorted. "I agree that it's good for children to have play dates. But you're being used girl and its time to face the truth. That baby out there is over here from dusk to dawn every night her daddy's out of town." She turned to stir the hamburger meat. "Makes you wonder what her momma's doing with all that time off."

"It's not like that." Laura protested, despite that knot in her stomach. "Kimberly's just not very maternal. She feels out of her element when Dallas isn't there to back her up." She walked back to the window to check on the kids, groaning as she saw Randy and John squaring off.

"World war three is about to start again." She murmured walking out the door.

"Leave them alone." She heard Randy shout as he pushed John away.

"I wasn't aiming for them. The ball hit the tree and went that way." The older boy answered. "You're a big pussy, always looking out for the girls."

Laura walked up behind him and grabbed the back of his neck, causing him to look up into her frowning face. "Care to repeat that?" She asked sweetly.

Eyes wide he hastily shook his head no.

"Good. Now why don't you go inside and help Nana set the table for dinner." She instructed.

His face immediately turned mutinous. "It's Brent's turn." He argued unwisely.

"But I'm telling you to do it. So unless you want to do it all week I'd get a move on." He kicked the dirt with the toe of his shoe but reluctantly headed for the house. Face stern she turned to Randy.

"The ball hit Lexi on the head." He immediately defended his position.

"Was he aiming for them?" She asked, turning to look at the two girls playing happily on the grass.

"No." He admitted reluctantly.

"And nobody was hurt by the accident?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No." He answered hanging his head.

"So you didn't have any reason to pick a fight with him?"

The little boy sneered. "With john there's always a reason." When his mother continued to stare sternly at him he admitted the truth. "No."

"Now you can to apologize to your brother for starting the fight and help him set the table." She waited until he had entered the house before turning to sit down next to the girls. "What are we having for tea?"

"We have cakes and cookies and brownies." Becca informed her solemnly as she poured her mother a cup of imaginary tea.

"If you want some you'll have to hurry. Brisco the rabbit and Ruffles the duck have eaten almost everything." Lexi announced as she held up the empty plate for Laura to choose from.

"Why thank you Princess Lexi." Laura smiled warmly at her as she pretended to grab a brownie. "Do you think Brisco and Ruffles are going to be able to eat dinner?" She asked the three year old.

Becca answered the question after holding a whispered conversation with Brisco. "They're not full yet and want to know if you want the last cookie."

"Hey mom." John yelled out the back door. "Dad's on the phone for you."

"Guess that answers that question." She murmured as she got up. She called out to Brent as she walked to the house. "Dinner's going to be ready soon so get cleaned up."

"Hey honey." She said as she picked up the phone.

"Hey baby. How are the monsters?" He pretended to cough. "Um I mean kids." He said causing her to laugh.

She saw John watching her nervously, waiting for her to tell Steve what he had said. "They're fine, no big drama's so far." She answered sending her oldest a wink and motioning for him to get back to work.

"Do you think we can handle one more for a couple of days?" He asked, his voice getting softer as he turned his back to the crowded room.

"I don't see why not." She told him, not mentioning that Lexi was over almost every day now.

"Well see, there's this kid, I'm not really sure where he came from but he's been around the last couple months. Everyone's been kind of taking care of him, one person taking him home with them on the days off." He explained in a rush.

Laura frowned as she wandered into the living room. "Is it safe? If you don't know where he comes from how do you know that his parents won't show up one day and accuse you'll of kidnapping him?" She asked in a worried tone.

"We don't." He answered simply. "The thing is nobody really remembers when he joined us or in what town. He just started showing up everywhere we went. After a while we found out he was sleeping in the alleys behind the arenas and eating out of garage cans. He was hitchhiking from arena to arena."

"How old is he?" She asked as her heart went out to the dirty little boy.

"He's seven. He reminds me a lot of John." Laura groaned when she heard that.

"Steve." She started in a warning voice. "I'm agreeing to him coming home with you. But if you want him to stay longer you need to find out more about his past." She advised him.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" He murmured into the phone.

"No but you can repeat it after you start breaking up the fights between Randy, John and the new kid." She grumbled before hanging up.

Steve turned around to face the group waiting anxiously for the news. "He can come for the week." He told them.

"And after that?" Jim Hellwig asked. "He can't keep going from house to house. He's needs to go to school."

Steve held up his hand. "I agree, but it depends on a lot of things. I don't want to force him into a situation he can't handle and I don't want to make my family miserable." He paused as he sighed heavily. "If everything goes okay this week and I have my families blessing then we will start the process. Legally." He stressed.

"How are you going to do things legally if we don't know anything about him?" Page asked from his position in the corner.

Steve shook his head. "It's time he starts giving us some answers." Leaving his friends he went searching for the child, finding him hanging out at ring side.

"Have you eaten yet?" He asked as he came up beside him.

The boy jerked his shoulder, the sleeve of his too big shirt sliding off his shoulder.

"Well, I'm hungry so why don't you join me?"

"Okay." The boy answered stuffing his hands in the pockets of his worn out jeans. "Can I get some French fries?" He asked as he walked stretched his long legs out to keep up with the older man.

Steve debated the answer. He knew that the kid had been given everything he had asked for in the last couple months by the sympathetic wrestles. He also knew that none of it was healthy. "We'll see what they have." He answered generically.

The kid shrugged his shoulders well naturedly. "Okay."

Steve shook his head. After interacting with the boy in the last couple months he knew that the child could take care of himself in any situation. What amazed him was how likeable and good-natured the kid was.

He waited until they had sat down at a table with their food before he began the questioning. "Do you have a last name Logan?"

The boy shrugged as he dipped a French fry in ketchup. "I don't know. Everyone just calls me Logan."

"When's your birthday?" Steve tried again. He frowned as he noticed the shadow move across the dark eyes' in front of him.

"They told me it was October 11th." He answered solemnly.

"Your parent's?" Steve prompted. He waited for a couple of minutes in silence before tapping the kid's arm to get his attention. "Logan, did your parent's tell you when your birthday was?"

Logan bit his lip as he played with the chicken on his plate. "No, they're dead." He answered slowly. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Steve nodded, not wanting to press the kid too hard. Instead he started describing some of the moves he was planning on doing in his match that night.

77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

Nana was waiting for her when she came down the stairs. "The girls tucked in for the night?" She asked softly.

Laura nodded as she walked to the doorway of the living room. "Boys, it's time to start getting ready for bed." She instructed deaf to their grumbles. She didn't turn around when Nana started speaking again.

"It's eight o'clock and she hasn't come to get her kid. Hasn't even called."

"She knows I would take care of her. She probably got involved in something and is running late." Laura answered slowly and a little desperately.

"She's using you and its going to keep getting worse." The older lady advised.

"What do you want me to do?" Laura cried out as she swung around. "Demand that Kimberly stop and stay home with a child she doesn't want? How is that good for that baby upstairs?"

"Don't worry." A small voice came from the foot of the stairs. Laura turned around to find her youngest son standing there looking determined. "We'll take care of Princess Lexi. I won't let nothing happen to her." Randy promised.

Laura smiled sadly. "You're our knight in shining armor." She said softly as she kissed his head. "Now go get ready for bed."

He gave her one last look before darting up the stairs. Passing John's room he could hear both his brothers arguing in low voices.

"What's going on?" He asked as he came into the room. The two older boys immediately shut up.

Randy folded his arms across his chest. "What's going on?" He demanded in a louder voice.

Brent shared a look with John before relenting. "John heard mom talking to dad tonight. He's bringing home another kid."

"Another boy." John clarified. He didn't look happy at the prospect.

"So?" Randy asked unconcerned.

"So we hardly get to spend any time with dad as it is. Then along comes this kid and Dad spends all his time with him trying to get him over his abuse or rejection or whatever." John spat out, too furious to see the looks his brothers exchanged.

"If you didn't want us here why didn't you just say so? We'll leave and then you can have dad all to your self." Randy yelled, unable to hide the hurt in his eyes.

John sighed. "That's not what I meant. I don't care if you're here. Who else would I play ball with?" He punched Randy in the shoulder showing him that he loved him. He turned to Brent. "And before you came I had to help Mom in the barn all the time. That really sucked." He made a face for his brother's benefit.

"How do you know the new boy won't be the same way?" Brent asked, not ready to forgive his brother just yet.

Laura moved away from the doorway back to the head of the stairs so they wouldn't know she had heard their conversation. "Boys? Are you ready for bed yet?" She called.

She raised her eyebrows as all three boys burst out of John's room. They flashed her guilty grins.

"Have to brush my teeth." John called as he rushed to the bathroom.

"I need a drink of water." Brent said as he slid past her to head downstairs.

"I can't find my pajamas." Randy grabbed her hand and dragged her into his room.

It was a half hour before she could sit down and relax, content with the knowledge that her family was safe and sound in bed.


	13. Logan

Thanks to everyone for being so patient with me. Happy reading.

* * *

The Past

Nana sat in the window of the airy sitting room as she knitted, keeping an eye on the rowdy boys playing in the front yard. It was unusual to see them playing together without the usual bickering. She should be concerned but she knew they were worried about the new arrival and and so had banded together to wait for their father to return home.

Noticing they had become still as statues she shifted her gaze to see a car coming down the circular driveway. Her lips thinned as she recognized the owner and driver of the vehicle. Noticing the way the car seemed to be weaving she glanced sharply at the boys, glad to see that they had the sense to back out of the way.

Unsteady on her three inch heels Kimberly Page climbed out of her little sports car and ran a hand through her disheveled hair.

"Hi Miss Kimberly." Brent called out dutifully while both John and Randy stared at her suspiciously.

She waved her fingers at them as she made her way up the steps. Pounding hard on the door she demanded that someone let her in. Nana chose to ignore her, calling through the screen for the boys to play around back.

"You there." Kimberly called as she leaned precariously over the porch railing. She peered in the window at the older woman. "Let me in. I have to get my baby."

"You smell like a brewery." Nana admonished, swishing the drapes closed.

"I need my baby." The slurred words were occupied with more heavy pounding on the door.

"What you need is a swift kick in the ass." Nana muttered as she walked towards the kitchen.

Laura met her in the hall, a concerned look on her face. "What's going on?"

"That babies mama is here, drunk as a skunk and wanting to take her home." She explained, her tone sharp. "Like we didn't have enough to worry about today." She added as she continued towards the kitchen. Laura sighed as she walked to the front door.

"That bitch that you hired wouldn't let me in." Kimberly snapped angrily as soon as she saw Laura.

"That bitch is a member of this family and she had a good reason for not letting you in." She said while taking in her friend's appearance.

Kimberly waved off the words as she pushed her way inside. "I need to get Lexie. Dallas will be home soon."

"Honey I can't let you take her." Laura said softly.

The taller women aimed a hard look over her shoulders. "You can't stop me. I'm her mother." Laura thinned her lips as she followed her into the kitchen.

Nana looked up as they entered. "Make sure you don't scuff up my floors with those ice picks you're wearing." She snapped folding her arms.

"I'll fucking do whatever I want to do." came the sneering reply.

A gasp from the back porch caught laura's attention and she hurried forward as she spotted the faces pressed against the screen door. "Don't you three have chores to do?" She asked before shutting the door firmly in their faces.

"Where's my daughter?" Kimberly asked almost falling as she turned in a fast circle. Not finding what she wanted she trotted on to the next room.

Ignoring Nana's angry gestures Laura followed with the older woman close behind. Neither heard the door open behind them.

"Here Lexie. Here baby. Come on now. It's time to came home." Kimberly called as she went from room to room.

"She's not a dog. She's a little girl that you're not capable of taking care of right now."

"Of course I can take care of her. She's mine."

"Unfortunately even whores reproduce." The older woman muttered for Laura's ears.

"You're not helping." She snapped back before forcing a smile. "Kimberly honey, why don't I drive you home and you can get cleaned up."

The other women was already shaking her head even as she headed up the stairs. "Dallas expects his little girl to be waiting on him." She muttered sourly. She teetered on the step causing the other two to catch their breath.

"Tell him that Lexie's having a play day and he can come get her." Laura stated reasonably.

"Nope you don't understand. I need her now." She said getting more agitated. She stopped in front of the girl's room.

Nana pushed forward and grabbed the doorknob. "You try to take the baby out of this house and I'm calling the police and charging you with drunk driving, public intoxication, child endangerment and anything else I can think of."

Kimberly stepped forward and pushed the older women away. "Go ahead and call the cops. I'll charge you with kidnapping." She swung the door open.

Laura reached out and grabbed her arm. "You need to calm down or you're going to scare both girls."

Shrugging off the restraining hand she swept into the room. "Where are they?" she asked indicating the empty beds.

Nana frowned as she walked over to check the bathroom. "They were napping before you made enough noise to wake the dead."

Standing in the doorway Laura turned her head slightly as she saw John stick his head around the corner. She nodded when he mouthed randy and pointed outside. She waited until he had slipped away before stepping forward. "The girls are safe and I'm tired of you disrupting my household." She turned and left the room. Giving an outraged shriek the intoxicated women rushed after her.

Steve walked in the door in time to see Kimberly launched herself at Laura, causing both of them to fall down the stairs. Dropping his bags he rushed forward, reaching his wife as she crawled out from under the other woman. "Don't move." he instructed her as he ran his hands down her body.

"Mom." John rushed forward from where he had been lurking. Nana finished coming down the stairs in time to grab him.

"I'm fine." Laura told him as she pushed her husband's hands away. "I'm fine." She repeated. She reached out to hug her nine year old. "it's takes a lot more than that to hurt your mama." She gestured to the grinning kid standing a little distance away. "Why don't you take him to meet your brothers while your dad and I straighten all this out.

Steve let out his breath as he helped her to sit up. "John this is Logan. Play nice." He warned.

John eyed the tall boy in front of him. "Sure." He answered his father before jerking his shoulder. "This way."

Logan followed him as far as the kitchen. "You don't have to show me around. I can wait in here." He grabbed a cookie off the top of the stove.

John frowned. "We aren't allowed to eat those this close to dinner." He warned. "Come on. I'm not getting in trouble over you."

The seven year old shrugged. Grabbing a handful of cookies he walked outside. "Wow." He said as he caught sight of the acres of white fenced pastures with the two large barns at the front.

John smirked as he waited for the other boy to catch up. "It's no big deal. Mom raises horses." he explained snatching a cookie from the new boy.

Brent materialized as soon as John walked through the door of the larger barn, "What's going on?" He asked showing a rare bit of impatience.

John gestured to the boy standing behind him. "This is Logan."

Brent faked a smile for the other boy. "Hi." Turning back to his brother he demanded. "What's Miss Kimberly doing now?"

"Is that the lady that pushed your mom down the stairs?" Logan asked, a small smile playing on his lips.

John grabbed his brother before he could run past him and into the house. "She's okay." He said while throwing the other boy a mean look. "Dad's home and he's taking care of it."

"So you're John, the oldest right?" Logan asked showing a cockiness far beyond his years. "And you

are?" He looked pointedly at Brent.

"My name is Brent London. I'm 8." He answered warily.

The younger boy frowned thoughtfully. "You don't have the same last name as Steve." He observed.

"None of us do. We're all adopted." John answered impatiently.

"Both of you?" He asked in surprise. "How many more?"

John nodded his head to tell Brent it was okay. In turn the dark haired little boy led them to a stall in the middle of the long row. They looked through the partially open door to see Randy holding a puppy while the two little girls giggled.

"Randy, this is Logan." John introduced them.

The six year old looked up at his older brother with relief in his eyes. "Dad's home?" He asked unnecessarily.

John nodded as Logan moved closer to the little girls. "Hi." He said softly, while smiling charmingly. "I'm Logan. What's your name?" He asked well aware that all three boys were watching him warily.

"Becca." The 4 year old spoke up. "This is Princess Lexi."

"A princess." He said appropriately awed, causing the little girl to grin back at him.

"This is Chipotte." Becca announced, stumbling over the pronunciation of the puppies name. "You can pet him but you have to be really careful cause his mama will get mad."

Logan obligated her by petting the dog gently.

"So where do you live?" John asked abruptly.

He shrugged. "London, Paris, New York City. I've lived a lot of places."

"With your parents?" Brent asked fascinated despite himself.

Logan shrugged, stepping on the puppies tail as he shifted. There was a low growl from the corner of the stall. As one the children drew back as a large dog rose, his lips pulled back in a snarl.

"Dad's going to be mad if he finds out you brought the girls out to play with the puppies. He told you to stay away." John warned his younger brother.

Randy shrugged uneasily as he watched Brent calm the animal down. "We were fine until you brought him out here."

John looked over his shoulder to find Logan hovering anxiously at the edge of the stall, his eyes opened wide in fright. "Take them somewhere else to play." He warned his brother before approaching the other boy. "It's just a dog. Didn't you have one?"

Logan backed the rest of the way out of the stall as he shook his head. "I wasn't allowed to have pets."

"Man your life sucked." John said leading the other boy out to an empty pasture.

Logan didn't reply, instead turning to Brent as he rushed up to join them. "Do they understand you? When you talk to the animals?" He clarified at the other boy's blank look.

Brent shrugged. "I dunno. They just seem to listen. So where are your parents now?" he asked instead.

"I dunno." Logan answered truthfully. Seeing the looks on their faces he quickly explained. "Their plane went down over the amazon. They were treasure hunting." He boosted.

"How long ago?" John asked suspiciously.

"What does it matter to you?" Logan shot back.

John shrugged, undisturbed by the other boy's anger. "I want to make sure you go back to where ever you came from."

"I didn't come from anywhere and have no where to go." He shrugged as he walked around the barn.

Do you always talk like that?" John sneered as he followed slowly. "All rich and snobby?"

"Maybe I am rich." Logan threw over his shoulder. "Are those yours?" He asked pointing to a couple of dirt bikes propped up against the barn.

"This one's mine." the older boy stepped between him and the bike. "That one's Brent's."

Logan raised his eyebrows. "Bet I can beat you in a race." He challenged.

Brent grabbed his brother's arm. "You aren't allowed to ride it. Remember you got in trouble last week and dad took it away."

Logan laughed when John hesitated. "Of course if you're worried about getting in more trouble."

John jerked his arm out of his brother's grasp. "Let's race."

* * *

"Dallas will be here in a couple minutes." Steve said as he joined his wife in the doorway of the kitchen. He frowned in the direction of the table where Kimberly sat sobbing.

"How does something like this happen?" Laura asked sadly.

"Dallas has been worried about her." he admitted as he wrapped his arms around her. "She's used to traveling with him, being in the moonlight. Ever since she's had the baby she's not been able to do that."

"So she's jealous of him and resentful of her." Laura shook her head. "What do they do now?"

"That's up to them." Steve answered as there was a knock on the door. Kissing the top of her head he went to answer it.

"Steve" Dallas Page said grimly as he walked in. "Where is she?"

"In the kitchen." He answered gesturing.

Dallas stopped in the doorway as he caught sight of his wife. "Should have known this was going to happen sooner or later." He grumbled. He looked back at his friends. "I don't want Lexie to see this. Can she stay here for a while?"

Laura smiled softly at him. "Of course." She assured him. "She's out in the barn with the boys if you want to see her."

He smiled his thanks as he took one last look at his wife. Shaking his head he eased past her and out the back door, the other two following.

They were halfway to the barn when Steve spotted the boys around the dirt bikes. "John you better not be getting on that bike." He called.

Logan took the opportunity to race over to the adults. "John challenged me to a race. He said it was okay to ride them. I didn't want to get in trouble but he called me a chicken."

"That's not true." John yelled as he ran up.

"I don't care how it happen. Nobody's getting on those bikes." Steve decided as they continued into the barn. He sent his son a look when he continued to argue. "Don't make me get rid of them altogether."

Logan took the opportunity to cling to laura. "I don't want to go back in there." He whined indicating the long row of stalls where Randy was leading the girls out.

"Why not sweety." She asked rubbing his back.

"Randy was playing with the dogs and he made the big one come after me. He almost bit me." He said showing her his arm.

Page raised his eyebrows at Steve as he bent down to pick up his daughter. "Something tells me they're not getting along."

Steve sighed as he grabbed the back of Randy's shirt before he could attack the other boy. "Why don't the four of you go get cleaned up for dinner." he suggested.

"What about him?" John asked suspiciously. He was glaring daggers at the new boy.

"Go now." his father gave him a little push. Walking to the side of the of the walkway he grabbed the football that was laying there. "Logan why don't you come catch some throws with me."

* * *

Later that night.

"Dad, can I talk to you?" John asked softly as he stood in the doorway of his parents room.

Steve exchanged a look with his wife as he put down his book. "Sure." He answered.

"Are you going to keep Logan?" the boy started.

"I know that you don't like him." Steve started to answer.

"He's lying to you. I went through his stuff when you were out playing with him and his real name is Logan Holloway. I goggled him on the computer. His parents are some rich ad people. They live in Italy right now." John finished in a rush.

"John how could you?" Laura admonished sitting up and staring at her son. "It's not right to go through someone else's stuff."

"But I had to find out the truth about him." He argued.

Before anyone could respond the door burst open the rest of the way. "How could you tell them." Logan yelled at John. "I thought you were going to be my friend. Instead you're just like everyone else.

"I never wanted to be your friend." John sneered. "Especially not with someone who is trying to take away my father."

"At least you have a father." The younger boy cried before running from the room. John sent his parents a confused look.

"Logan's father is really his stepfather. Mr. Holloway got rid of him when the man's own son was born. For the last four years he's been raised by various housekeepers and butlers." Steve informed him.

"You already knew?" John realized.

Steve nodded. "A Ms. Dumfries will be here to pick him up tomorrow."

You know John, Logan's not allowed to go to school. He's trapped in the house with tutors. He has no friends."

He had the grace to look ashamed.

* * *

Present

"Get another unit of blood started. Make sure you send several units to the OR." The surgeon called as he examined the wound in the patient's side. He looked over at the ER doc. "Have you notified family yet?"

The taller man shook his head. "He appears to be a victim of a mugging. No identification, no watch or wallet. The cops are looking into it but for right now he's John Doe."

"He belongs to someone. The homeless don't where shoes that nice." The nurse observed.

"Well if I can't fix his lung all his family is going to claim is a corpse." The first doctor observed as he indicated the surgical techs to take the pt to the OR. "Let me know if they find out who he is."


End file.
